Smartphone apps help thousands in latest storms

Published 26 May 2011

In the recent string of natural disasters to hit the Midwest, emergency communication smartphone apps have proven invaluable for contacting family members and first responders; during these natural disasters, telephone lines and cell phone towers are often inundated with traffic, leaving individuals unable to contact their loved ones or even reach 911; thanks to smartphone apps like Life360, individuals have been able to contact family members to let them know they are okay, or alert emergency workers if they are in trouble; during the floods that left Memphis, Tennessee under water, more than 2,400 families used the app to share their locations and confirm their safety

In the recent string of natural disasters to hit the Midwest, emergency communication smartphone apps have proven invaluable for contacting family members and first responders.

During natural disasters, telephone lines and cell phone towers are often inundated with traffic, leaving individuals unable to contact their loved ones or even reach 911.

But, thanks to smartphone apps like Life360, individuals have been able to contact family members to let them know they are okay, or alert emergency workers if they are in trouble with the push of a button even.

Last month, Scott Tatum found himself unable to reach anyone on his cellphone after he was stuck on a Mississippi road while a deadly tornado swept toward him.

“I tried to make a phone call, but could not get a signal through. I tried to send a text, but could not get a signal through,” Tatum said. “It was pretty frightening.”

But by using the Life360 app on his phone, Tatum was able to check in with his family and let them know he was okay.

“It gave everyone a lot of relief,” Tatum said. “My family knew where I was, and felt much better about it when they got the check-in.”

With Life360 individuals can bypass jammed phone lines and almost instantaneously send text messages, emails, or make calls to all family members at once.

Chris Hulls, the CEO of Life360, explained, “We have servers literally all over the world that can access long-distance lines, send text messages a thousand times a second — you just can’t do that as a person; but we can, as a technology company.”

Life360 is available for free and so far has an estimated three million subscribers.

Hulls said the he developed the app after Hurricane Katrina where people lacked a way to let family members know they were safe or emergency workers that they were in need of aid.

The San Francisco-based company maintains a headquarters where analysts track locations of individuals who activated the device. In the most recent floods and storms that hit the Midwest, the company’s data showed that hundreds of people in the areas that were hardest hit were successfully able to send messages or activate panic alerts.

During the floods that left Memphis, Tennessee under water, more than 2,400 families used the app to share their locations and confirm their safety.

Other emergency communications smartphone apps include Guardly, Emergency Distress Beacon, and Quake SOS.