Your smartphone can help your family and organization stay safe during emergencies, particularly during severe weather. Severe weather conditions can be unexpected and unpredictable and can result in power blackouts, property damage, and inaccessible or dangerous roads which could affect your organization, your personnel, and their families.

If you have a smartphone, there are several ways you can use it to stay informed about current or impending emergencies, or manage unfolding emergencies:

• Download the WeatherCAN Created by Environment and Climate Change Canada, this app will notify you of impending severe weather events like earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, winter storms, thunderstorms, extreme heat, and wildfires.
• The national Alert Ready emergency alert system automatically sends emergency alerts to your phone based on where you live. Alerts can be about extreme weather, fires or civil emergencies..
  • There are options for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or partially sighted: Alternate formats of the alerts may be issued, however, not every alerting authority or device has the capability to produce or receive these formats. Broadcasters may use text-to-speech software to create an audio version of an alert message. Emergency alerts may be read to the recipient if the device supports this feature. The vibration feature that accompanies emergency alerts is available on devices connected to a Canadian service provider. Contact your wireless provider for more services which may be available to you.
• Download the First Aid app created by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The app provides instant access to simple step-by-step advice to help you respond to everyday emergencies and maintain your First Aid and CPR skills.

The Canadian Red Cross also recommends using your smartphone in the following ways:

• Monitor conditions where your loved ones live – check if they are safe and tell them you’re safe if your region is experiencing an emergency.
• Consider sharing smartphone GPS locations among family members so you can find one another if separated during an emergency.
• Pre-save critical emergency and family contacts, and even vital information like prescriptions and identification, on your phone to aid easy access even without mobile connectivity.