ReadyVB: Virginia Beach Entering Most Active Months of Hurricane Season

With a possible first hurricane of the season brewing in the Atlantic, the Virginia Beach area is entering the most active months of the 2025 hurricane season. While the season officially runs June 1 to Nov. 30, most hurricanes that affect our area form in August and September.  

Now is the time to make sure that you, your family and your businesses are prepared for potential impacts of a hurricane, which could include losing access to food, water, electricity, cell phone service or other services. 

Preparedness Resources and Tips 

The City of Virginia Beach has resources and tips to help make sure you are prepared:  

Make a Plan
A free, fillable emergency preparedness plan template is available for residents. Use this template to create a personalized emergency preparedness plan for you or your family.  

Build a Kit
Assemble an emergency kit with essential supplies to sustain you and your family for at least 72 hours.  To help you build an effective emergency kit, how many to make, and where to store them, VirginiaBeach.gov/ReadyVB has several tips and resources.    

Don’t forget to add your pets into your family's emergency preparations and evacuation plans! Follow these tips to prepare your pets for disasters.   

Stay Ahead. Stay Informed.  
Residents are encouraged to sign up for VBAlert, an emergency alert and warning system that sends messages to registered users via text, email and phone. Text VBALERT to 67283 to opt in. Reply STOP at any time to opt out. You can also sign up at VirginiaBeach.gov/VBAlert.   

Virginia Beach Emergency Management 

While you take these necessary steps, you might wonder what the City of Virginia Beach is doing to prepare. That’s where the City’s Emergency Management team shines, working year-round to help reduce Virginia Beach's impacts from human-made, natural or technological disasters.  

In addition to preparing for disasters, Emergency Management has worked with City leadership to establish response plans for managing emergency situations of all sizes. This Emergency Operations Plan assigns major roles and responsibilities to departments and agencies and establishes priorities. City departments and agencies work to regularly update the plan, as well as train and exercise with it.  

City leaders are committed to working together to prevent and mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies in our community, as well as working with local and regional, state and federal partners.  

In addition, each department of the City has established emergency plans for chain of command, responsibilities and the ability to immediate use all facilities, equipment, staff and other resources to minimize or prevent damage to persons and property, to restore government services and public utilities necessary for public health, safety and welfare. 

Virginia Beach’s Top Priorities 

Virginia Beach has identified flooding, tropical/coastal storms and sea level rise and land subsidence as the highest risk critical hazards for the city. At moderate risk are tornadoes, winter storms and hazardous materials incidents.  

The City’s top priorities when responding to a disaster are to: 

• Save lives and protect the health and safety of the public, responders and recovery workers. 
• Protect property and mitigate damages or impacts to individuals, the community and the environment. 
• Ensure the security of the city. 
• Provide and analyze information to support decision-making and action plans. 
• Manage and track City resources effectively during emergency response and recovery. 
• Protect and restore critical infrastructure and key resources. 
• Ensure local government continues to function throughout the incident. 
• Ensure effective information management regarding emergency response and recovery operations. 
• Communicate critical information to residents. 
• Facilitate recovery of individuals, families, businesses, government and the environment. 

• ReadyVB

The City of Virginia Beach Emergency Management team promotes a comprehensive emergency management program to mitigate Virginia Beach's impacts from human-made, natural or technological disasters. Learn more at VirginiaBeach.gov/ReadyVB.