Federal Alliance for Safe Homes Unveils New Mitigation and Preparedness Smartphone App at 2013 National Hurricane Conference

USA - English

• Latin America - español

App provides peril-based mitigation and preparedness tools and weather forecasting functions with the added value of NOAA weather radio technology.

NEW ORLEANS, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the National Hurricane Conference kicks off in New Orleans today; the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)® released "FLASH Weather Alerts" the first-ever precision, severe weather alert smartphone app that includes home mitigation and family preparedness information, videos and consumer support in English and Spanish. The app combines bilingual preparedness and mitigation content with the powerful performance of a GPS, precision text-to-speech severe weather warnings.  Users can choose only one, or up to 100 alert options from flood, hurricane and tornado to wildfire and more. 

"This app not only offers the advantages of new technology to reduce the chronic and dangerous problem of over-alerting, it empowers families with mitigation and safety information," said FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson.  "With more than 137 million smartphone users in the United States, we believe it is time to take family safety and home mitigation mobile."

Weather Features of FLASH Weather Alerts:

• Local weather forecasts for seven days including hourly updates with temperature, precipitation and humidity
• Severe weather alerts for up to six saved locations in the United States
• Location-based alerting using smartphone GPS and local cellular towers to pinpoint locations making alerts more precise, reducing false alerts
• Built in radar maps with animation, watch/warning boxes and hurricane cone of probability provide additional information for alerted users
• Exclusive live video streaming from the National Hurricane Center and local television affiliates (where available) providing connectivity if cable, satellite or local TV is unavailable.
• Devices automatically wake up when alerts are issued and text to speech feature speaks the alert to the user (preserves safety while driving)
• Customizable alerts with more than 100 severe weather hazards including:
  • Floods and flash flood
  • Hurricane watches and warnings
  • Lightning (coming soon)
  • Marine advisories
  • Severe thunderstorm
  • Tornado
  • Wildfires
  • Winter weather alerts and more

Mitigation and Preparedness Features of FLASH Weather Alerts:

• Mitigation resources put information to make homes stronger and families safer in the palm of the user's hand – in English and Spanish
• Follow disaster safety discussions on FLASH Facebook and Twitter
• "Current News" feed provides event-driven preparedness/mitigation tips as severe events unfold
• Season-specific mitigation/preparedness information reaches users when they need it most

All app features are included in the one-time price of $7.99 and will not require any additional in app purchases.  FLASH Weather Alerts is now available from the Apple AppStore and Google Play store for a reduced cost of $4.99 through Friday, March 29, 2013. 

For more information visit www.flashweatheralerts.org.

About FLASH
Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)®, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is the country's leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters. FLASH collaborates with more than 100 innovative and diverse partners that share its vision of making America a more disaster-resistant nation including: BASF, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Florida Division of Emergency Management, The Home Depot®, International Code Council, Kohler® Generators, National Weather Service, RenaissanceRe, Simpson Strong-Tie®, State Farm™, USAA® and WeatherPredict Consulting Inc. In 2008, FLASH opened the interactive weather experience StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes® in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Learn more about FLASH and gain access to its free consumer resources by visiting www.flash.org or calling (877) 221-SAFE (7233). Also, get timely safety tips to ensure that you and your family are always well protected from natural and manmade disasters by subscribing to the FLASH blog – Protect Your Home in a FLASH.

SOURCE Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)