ANNAPOLIS, Md. – September is recognized as National Preparedness Month, reminding citizens that emergencies and disasters can strike at any time and it’s never too early to prepare and plan. As part of America’s PrepareAthon! Campaign, Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) encourages Marylander’s to download the award-winning MARYLAND Prepares mobile app. This free resource is available for download on the iTunes and Google Play app stores, and can also be accessed through the state’s official website, Maryland.gov, or MEMA’s website, mema.maryland.gov.
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 citizen-centric mobile app includes the tools for Marylanders to create interactive emergency kits, build customized family communication plans, and view preparation guides, keeping residents better informed and prepared. The “I’m Safe” capability 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.
"Free resources available to the public, like the MARYLAND Prepares app, are a great way for Marylanders to learn, take action, be ready for emergencies and disasters," said MEMA executive director, Russ Strickland.
According to a recent study conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and community Preparedness Division (CPD), 66 percent of Americans living in areas with a history of severe weather reported they had access to information on how to be better prepared, in the last six months. This data indicates that community and individual awareness on how to be prepared for an emergency or natural disaster is strongly influenced by innovative government services like MARYLAND Prepares mobile app, and communication efforts.
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, and markets the official website of the state of Maryland, www.maryland.gov and its digital government services. NIC Maryland 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 digital government services contract. NIC Maryland has developed dozens of 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 innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides digital government solutions for more than 4,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.