Anyone could be caught in a disaster — and most of us carry something in our pocket that could help us stay safe, or even alive, when it strikes.
Mobile phones are an increasingly useful tool with apps designed to help you to plan before an emergency - they also can help you during one as well.
We've curated a list of apps and tips that might be handy if disaster strikes.
Apps to help you prepare
The best time to plan for an emergency, is well before it actually happens.
- BOM weather app
The Bureau of Meteorology app will use your location information to alert you to severe weather events happening near you, including; dangerous thunderstorms and cyclones, elevated fire danger and heatwave conditions, riverine and flash flooding. - My Bushfire Plan
WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services say it only takes 15 minutes to make your bushfire plan with this app which leads you through a series of questions and check lists to help you decide the right plan for you and your family,. - Red Cross Get Prepared app
Save your key contacts, get links to your local emergency services agencies, make simple checklists for an emergency, and share your emergency plan using this app developed by the Red Cross. - Red Cross First Aid
A pocket guide to first aid and CPR, this app includes videos, images and quizzes to refresh your first aid knowledge.
Save your important documents
You can also save important documents to your phone before an emergency, to help you recover in the aftermath. You can:
- If you don't have a scanner you can take photos of any paper copies of important documents and keep them in a special 'album' on your phone.
- If you have digital copies of important documents, you can email them to yourself and file them in an easy to find folder.
- If you have cloud storage, it's a good idea to keep an Important Documents folder regularly updated.
Make sure all your passwords are secure!
Apps to help you during an emergency
- ABC listen app
The ABC's audio streaming app, allowing you to listen to local programs and emergency broadcasts from any ABC Radio station around Australia. - Emergency+
The Emergency+ app has been developed by Australian emergency services, government and industry. It helps you ring triple-0 and provides you with your GPS coordinates so you can tell an operator where you are. - What3Words
What3Words makes it easier to convey your GPS coordinates in case you need rescuing by emergency services. W3W has divided the world map into individual locations, each of which have been allocated three random English words to identify them. You can use the combination of words to convey your exact location to rescuers. - First Aid – St John Ambulance.
Step-by-step emergency first aid. - AirRater
This app helps people with asthma, hayfever and other lung conditions by showing weather information like air quality, pollen count and temperature.
Emergency apps in your state
Whether you're a local or travelling to an interstate destination, download all of the emergency alert apps for the state or territory you're in, so you can set warning notifications for your preferred location.
New South Wales
NSW Hazards Near Me
Hazards Near Me has an interactive map that shows current information about emergencies, like flood, bushfire and tsunamis, as well as advice on what to do. Replaces the Fires Near Me app.
Live Traffic NSW
Live traffic has the most up-to-date information about roads so you can plan your route to avoid weather-affected areas. Make sure you check your route before you leave.
Northern Territory
NT Public Safety
The NT Public Safety app includes contact information for police, fire and emergency medical services in the Northern Territory and safety and security tips.
Road Report NT
This app provides information on road closures in the Northern Territory, where rain can often force widespread closures of unsealed roads.
Queensland
SES Assistance Queensland
You can use this app to contact the State Emergency Service in Queensland for assistance during or after a storm or flood.
QldTraffic
View the map for the most up-to-date information, so you can plan your route to avoid fire-affected or flooded roads. Make sure you check your route before you leave. You can also find roads and traffic information on the local council dashbohard.
Queensland Local Government Disaster Dashboards and emergency alerts map
Queensland Government's disaster management online portal has links to every local government disaster dashboard in the state. Each dashboard has notices and information specific to the area. Pin this website to your mobile phone home screen so you can access it like an app.
South Australia
AlertSA Create a watch area in the AlertSA map, and you'll receive notifications for bushfires or incidents within the radius you choose.
Outback Road Warnings This is a webpage you will need to pin to your smart phone home screen. Before setting off or heading back, check the latest on open, restricted and closed unsealed roads.
SATraffic For sealed road information, refer to Traffic SA for closures, roadworks, incidents and planned events in South Australia.
Tasmania
TasAlert
Create a watch area in the TasAlert map, and you'll receive notifications for bushfires or incidents within the radius you choose.
Victoria
VicEmergency
The official emergency warning app from the Victorian government, providing information on fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis and water safety.
VicTraffic
View the map for the most up-to-date information, so you can plan your route to avoid fire-affected or flooded roads. Make sure you check your route before you leave.
Western Australia
St John First Responder – WA
Sends your GPS coordinates to the triple-0 operator when you call for help in Western Australia then notifies registered first-aid providers when an incident has occurred in a public place near them.
Right Move Perth
These apps show you real-time traffic information and road closures. In an emergency, you may need to plan your route carefully as some roads may not be open.
How to pin a webpage to your phone's home screen
- Some agencies have developed mobile websites rather than apps which work in a similar way.
- You can pin a website to your phone's home screen just like an app:
- On an iPhone, tap the "Share" button in your browser, then tap "Add to Home Screen"
- On an Android phone with the Chrome browser, tap the "Menu" button in your browser and select "Add to Home Screen"
- You can find details for emergency agencies in your state here.
Emergency Alert text messages
Emergency Alert is the national telephone warning system used by emergency services to send voice messages to landlines and text messages to mobile phones within a defined area about likely or actual emergencies.
Note, however, that Emergency Alert relies on telecommunications networks to send messages, and message delivery cannot be guaranteed.
How do I know if the message is legit?
If the caller ID on your phone displays the number 0444 444 444, it is genuine and from the national warning system.
What if my phone's flat and the power's out?
If the power is out during an emergency, it can be useful to have a mobile phone charger on hand that doesn't rely on mains electricity.
"There are lots of different options but it's really important that you think of these before disaster hits as part of your emergency preparation plan," Telstra regional general manager Steve Tinker told the ABC.
Portable battery chargers or power banks
These are essentially second batteries that you can use to charge your phone and represent a "very, very good option", according to Mr Tinker.
They range in capacity but many offer enough power to charge your phone two or three times — as long as you've planned ahead and they're already charged up.
Car charger
Many modern cars have power outlets much like the ones you have at home.
If your vehicle doesn't have a USB or AC outlet, you may be able to charge your phone using a built-in cigarette lighter with the right cable.
Solar mobile phone chargers
These are available at some camping and electronics shops and can keep your phone topped up, although they'll usually need to be in full sunlight.
Depending on the model, they can be much slower than charging via a wall outlet.
Wind-up or hand-crank chargers
A hand-operated charger will work regardless of conditions.
By winding a handle, you can generate electricity that can be used to charge your phone.
They're a good last resort option rather than something you should expect to fully charge your device from scratch.
What if I have no signal?
If you have zero mobile coverage where you are, there is no way to make phone calls, including to triple-0.
However, "you can call triple-0 even if your mobile provider doesn't have coverage in that area ... as long as you have signal from any [one] of the mobile providers in Australia", Mr Tinker said.
If you're in a remote area where emergencies occur often, consider a satellite phone which can make calls from anywhere if the sky is visible.
What if I don't know where I am?
If you're caught in an emergency and you're not sure how to describe your location to emergency services, your phone has extra tools to help you.
Australian mobile phones have Advanced Mobile Location (AML) services. AML-enabled phones recognise when an emergency call is made to triple-0 (000 and 112) and activates your phone's location service functions. Your phone then automatically sends an SMS with the estimated location to the Triple-0 Emergency Call Service while you're talking to triple-0.
It will work automatically with Android phones version 4.1 or higher. If you are using an iPhone, users can ensure their devices are running iOS14.3 or later to have access to this service.
AML is not an app — it is built into the operating system.
If your phone isn't AML enabled:
The triple-0 operator can see your address if you call from a landline, but not if you're ringing from your mobile.
- Using Google Maps, you can press and hold anywhere on the map, such as your location marked with a blue dot, to drop a red pin. Tapping on the pin will bring up information including the coordinates.
- If you use Apple Maps, tap the blue dot on the map representing your location, which will call up data including the coordinates.
- The Emergency+ app provides easy access to your GPS coordinates.
- The app What3Words uses a combination of ordinary words to provide your latitude and longitude.
Always have other sources of information
A mobile phone can be an invaluable way to help keep yourself safe during a disaster, but you should make sure you have other ways of receiving information in an emergency.
"Mobile towers can go down during an emergency, so you need to make sure you've got alternate ways to find information, so access to a radio or other ways to stay connected if that does happen," Ms Goodall said.
You can find a list of radio frequencies for local ABC Radio stations here.