Emergency+ App Shows The Way
An app has been developed to encourage people in Australia to call the correct number for help in emergency and non-emergency situations, such as Triple Zero (000) for emergencies and 132 500 for SES flood and storm situations.
The Emergency+ app uses the existing GPS functionality of smartphones to enable callers to provide emergency call-takers with their location information as determined by their smartphone. Latitude and longitude details can be relayed to an emergency operator as well as an address and suburb details.
More than 65% of incoming calls to Triple Zero (000) nationally are now made from mobile phones. In many cases, people aren't aware of their location, especially if they are in open space areas like beaches, parks, long stretches of roads or simply unfamiliar with their surroundings.
The app includes the option of calling State Emergency Services (SES) 132 500 or Police Assistance Line (PAL) 131 444 numbers.
The Emergency+ app is available for free in iTunes and Google Play