The new iPhone and Android mobile app is designed to help residents and visitors with weather and public emergency preparedness, including weather alerts.
“We’re excited for the app to finally be completed,” said Pittsburg County Office of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Enloe. “It’s ready for everyone to start downloading it.”
Through the Pittsburg County EM mobile app, users can receive county emergency alerts in the notifications on their smartphones. The app includes a “Share Our App” feature in the app settings to help other family members, friends and neighbors get prepared for extreme weather or emergency situations such as wildfires and road closures.
Enloe said one of the things he considers best about the new Pittsburg County EM mobile app is that it allows quicker recording of damages resulting from extreme weather. That should make it much easier and quicker when assessing damage from a severe weather event or some other emergency.
“The big thing that excites me is in a storm or flooding event, the citizens will have the ability to take a picture and fill out a damage report and submit it electronically to our office,” Enloe said. “This is going to speed up the process.”
It would also give the user a way to stay informed of weather conditions, even if there is a power outage. Included on the app displays are local weather forecasts, radar and alerts. Among the alerts is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration rebroadcast when life-threatening weather conditions are present. The app also offers emergency preparedness resources on how to prepare for different emergencies and includes an emergency checklist of items everyone should have in case of an emergency.
Enloe said the app is being offered free of charge through the iPhone and Google Play (Android) app stores.
It’s not limited to one per household.
“If every member of the household wants to download it, they can,” he said.
Another feature allows the person with the app to receive local weather conditions, regardless of where that person is, Enloe said. Through a GPS system, the app can make the adjustments if someone living in McAlester has traveled to Tulsa, for example.
“Regardless of where you are, it will download the the current weather where you’re at,” said Enloe.
The app was created by MyEMapp.com, a division of OCV, LLC, which specializes in public safety and emergency preparedness, according to information from the local Emergency Management Office.
“Mobile apps offer organizations a great way to connect with the public — whether or not they have power,” said OCV Vice President Kevin Cummings. “We are honored to serve Pittsburg County EM and the Pittsburg County community.” Download the Pittsburg County EM mobile app onto your smartphone or tablet, he continued, adding that it’s available for free.
©2016 the McAlester News-Capital (McAlester, Okla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
