Monday, August 29, 2011

Benefits of Technology in Hurricane Season

Hurricane Irene spared South Florida, but provided an opportunity to test our hurricane preparedness. Now is a good time to review and adjust your Emergency Action Plan as we approach the peak of hurricane season in a few weeks.

Consider the benefits of technology in a weather event. Here are some helpful tips for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Smartphone users:

·Download flashlight APPs on smartphones. When Japan experienced the tsunami, flashlight apps were the #1 download at that time. This feature will come in handy during a power outage.

·From the ABC newsroom, Hurricane HD lets you track storms with moving radar and satellite imagery from the National Hurricane Center. It provides tropical bulletins, forecasts, and advisories. You can watch video updates for current storms and find data on major storms of the past.

·The Weather Channel has fully customizable weather maps, animated radar maps, detailed weather conditions and forecasts, severe weather alerts, and a notification bar with the current temperature and severe weather alert indicator. It allows you to get weather forecasts for your location or search by city, ZIP Code, street address, or landmark. The app also includes interactive maps that are fully customizable and feature the functionality of Google Maps. You can decide to display layers such as radar, clouds, UV index, rainfall and more.

·Global Alert Network delivers hands-free national traffic and weather alerts. See iTunes for Apple devices or go to BlackBerry for a download. The Global Alert Network is a location-aware network platform that automatically broadcasts audible hands-free alerts to mobile devices. You can choose to subscribe to weather or traffic alerts, which are geo-targeted to your location.

One last reminder: Make sure to have your electronic device fully charged before the hurricane.

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