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Disaster Talk to the Rescue

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Disaster Talk to the Rescue

 
July 31, 2014

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By Mini Swamy,
TMCnet Contributor


When Hurricane Sandy destroyed parts of the Eastern seaboard in 2012, the White House urged techies to come up with disaster-specific apps and services that would assist residents and recovery teams alike. After this came a flurry of apps to be used in rescue or disaster scenarios. The latest app-DisasterTalk was launched in response to a housing report, which stated that about eight percent of U.S. homes are very vulnerable to natural disasters.


“The new housing report by RealtyTrac has shown that 10.6 million homes in the US are at very high risk of being ravaged or ruined by a natural disaster,” said Myo Sandar Nwe, Ace Medical Group, who can take a lot of credit for the development of the app.

DisasterTalk is a texting app, developed to offer fast, instant phone to phone communication in a unique way. It can send messages to another iPhone (News - Alert) up to 100 feet away without the need for Wi-Fi, and also through a meshwork of iPhones nearby to possibly longer ranges. It uses the ‘Multipeer Connectivity Frame Work platform’ to keep people in touch, even in the most extreme conditions, and offers a lifeline in many circumstances where typical phone services would not be available.

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, where lives are in danger or people are missing, it can carry important messages to those who need to hear them, allowing them to adjust their plans and rescue operations accordingly.

Social media is being used by town councils and municipalities to keep residents informed of weather warnings and potential natural disasters heading their way, and safety advice is imparted over the internet. However, there are towns where cell reception and Wi-Fi conk out, phone masts and Internet hubs are destroyed in the wake of a large disaster; DisasterTalk can step in then.

“The app is fantastic for deciphering whether people are alive under rubble, or whether there are people still inside a building which has caught fire. We’d like to encourage all those who are in the ‘very high risk’ band to download the app now and protect themselves against the threat of natural disaster,” urged Nwe.

If you’re hiking, exploring or mountain climbing, this may be an app that’s good to have. And if you’re buying a home, be prudent enough to check out the disaster risk factor; if you’ve already plunged too deep to withdraw, download DisasterTalk.




Edited by Adam Brandt
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