Emergency app another step towards better public alerting

Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye says the emergency response smartphone app announced today by Communications Minister Amy Adams could potentially save lives in many types of emergencies.

“I worked alongside Minister Adams to identify opportunities for civil defence uses for the app, and the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has been involved in building the business case for it.

“The app will be designed so that as well as its emergency caller location function, it will also be able to send alerts to users about threats in their area.

“This could include everything from flooding, forest fires and tsunami, to armed offender incidents and infectious diseases.

“Although this is an important step towards better public alerting, an app by itself doesn’t offer a total solution, as the information will only flow to those who have chosen to download it.

“We need to ensure there’s a range of public alerting mechanisms in place.

“Agencies currently use tools such as radio, television and social media. The next step I’m investigating is using cellphone networks to get alerts out quickly where they’re needed.

“Last year, I commissioned an initial business case to investigate the introduction of a telecommunications-based public alerting system, which would send alerts to all cellphones.

“A major benefit of this is that it wouldn’t require phone-holders to take any action to receive alerts.

“I expect a detailed business case to be completed next month. This will enable the government to make decisions on whether to implement such a system and if so, how and when it would be funded.

“An early warning can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency, so public alerting is crucial to building a safer and more resilient New Zealand.”