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Smarter way for emergency alerts

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland launched the DisasterWatch app for both iPhone and Android smartphones

Australians can access information about emergencies and disasters through a new government application for smartphones.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland launched the DisasterWatch app for both iPhone and Android smartphones at the 12th Australia Safer Community Awards in Canberra on Thursday.

McClelland said the smartphone application would have the latest public information about disaster events via direct feeds from official state, territory and national sources.

He said the app could alert the 4.5 million Australians with smartphones about emergency warnings and finding disaster-related information.

"The take-up of smartphone technology has grown rapidly in Australia in the last 12 months and it is expected that by 2013, more people will access the internet via mobile devices than via desktop computers," McClelland said.

He said developing the smartphone app was a priority with an ever increasing reliance on the internet and social media for information.

The app would also cut unnecessary calls to triple zero in a disaster, McClelland said.

"Nearly half of all calls to triple zero are non-urgent calls and when a disaster happens, calls are requests for information about the disaster," he said.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

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