Maryland’s award-winning official emergency management mobile app, MARYLAND Prepares, from the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), helps Maryland families better prepare for emergencies. The MARYLAND Prepares mobile app provides the resources Marylanders need to be prepared before, during, and after severe weather and provides real-time alerts for citizens.

During the month of September, MEMA is encouraging all Marylanders to download the MARYLAND Prepares mobile app as part of National Preparedness Month and America’s PrepareAthon! Campaign. The MARYLAND Prepares app is available to download for free in the app stores for Apple and Android devices and can also be accessed through the state’s official website, Maryland.gov, maryland.gov or MEMA’s website, mema.maryland.gov.

”The MARYLAND Prepares app is a tool that every resident can have ready in their pocket during an emergency,” said MEMA Executive Director Ken Mallette. “National Preparedness Month is a reminder to download the app both for the pre-disaster checklists and also in order to receive real-time emergency, traffic, and weather alerts.”

The MARYLAND Prepares mobile app provides Marylanders with the resources needed to prepare and respond to severe weather emergencies such as tornados and hurricanes. The mobile app is also used by MEMA to push real-time alerts to Marylanders during emergencies including power and natural gas outages. Besides providing alerts and emergency information on-the-go, the mobile app includes the tools for Marylanders to create interactive emergency kits, create customized family communication plans, and view preparation guides so residents are more informed and better prepared. The “I’m Safe” feature integrates with the phone’s text message, email and social networking features to allow residents to alert family members that they are safe following a disaster. Real-time notifications are sent directly to the device from MEMA, providing the most up-to-the-minute information for residents in the event of an emergency.

Features Include:

  • Prepare Emergency Kits through interactive checklists
  • View Emergency Preparation Guides for different types of emergencies
  • Create customized Family Communication Plans
  • Send an “I’m Safe” message via email, text, and social networks
  • View real-time alerts for emergencies, weather and traffic
  • Monitor current cyber threats and suspicious activity
  • Access Maryland Emergency Management Agency news and events
  • View current and extended national weather forecasts based on current location; ability to save multiple locations
  • Locate Maryland Emergency Management Agency contacts and other useful emergency resources
  • Customizable application settings and privacy controls

Thousands of Marylanders have downloaded the MARYLAND Prepares mobile app that was recently honored with three international awards –The Gold Horizon Interactive Award is a prestigious international award recognizing outstanding achievement among interactive media producers, the Communicator Awards Silver Award of Distinction is an international award recognizing big ideas in marketing and communications, and the international Visual Excellence in the Multimedia Arts (VEMA) Awards which recognizes outstanding creativity and innovation in the multimedia arts.

The MARYLAND Prepares mobile app was developed at no charge for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) by NIC Maryland, through the self-funded eGovernment services contract with the State Department of Information Technology (DoIT).

About NIC Maryland

NIC Maryland builds, operates, maintains, supports and markets Maryland.gov and its eGovernment services. Maryland.gov is the official website of the State of Maryland (http://www.maryland.gov) and is a collaborative public/private partnership managed by the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) and NIC Maryland. NIC Maryland helps Maryland state and local government entities web-enable their services and operates without tax funds through a Self-funded eGovernment Services contract. NIC Maryland has developed more than 28 eGov products and services for the State of Maryland since the contract was awarded in August, 2011.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation’s leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company’s innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” five times, most recently ranked at No. 11 (2013), and the company has been included three times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *