6 August 2013

Auckland Council welcomes funding for smartphone app

Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM), a division of Auckland Council, has received $160,000 in national funding to enhance New Zealand’s first integrated public alert system and mobile app ready for national roll-out.

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management announced the funding on Tuesday 6 August as part of its national programme of grants to aid local and regional projects.

In September last year, Auckland CDEM launched the first integrated public alert system and smartphone app in New Zealand. These funds will be used to further develop the smartphone app to allow other regions to join, as well as expanding the number of platforms it is available on. The work is expected to be completed by the middle of 2014.

“Thanks to this funding, we can help ensure others around New Zealand will also benefit from the innovative work done by Auckland CDEM,” says Janice Miller, Auckland CDEM manager of logistics and administration support.

“Smartphone ownership continues to grow, so it is great that more people will be able to access timely, accurate updates such as local alerts about disasters and information on how to be prepared, via these increasingly popular devices,” says Janice Miller.

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