The Gilmer EMA will provide alerts and notifications
Emergency management? There’s an app for that in Gilmer County.
This app, titled EM Connect, released Thursday, Sept. 25, is available to Apple and Android users.
“It centralizes all our information that we try to get out to the people instead of using multiple platforms,” Gilmer County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Aaron Freeman said.
“This app is real time. So anytime we post it, it’s available immediately,” he said.
The EMA’s Facebook page provides links to download the app.
After downloading the app, users should look up Gilmer County to receive alerts for the area.
The app includes advice on how to be prepared, local school closures, news and alerts, weather reports, power outage warnings, school closure warnings and lists of local resources.
It also has tabs where people can volunteer, register special needs family members to receive assistance in disasters, contact EMS and report damage.
“If we have storms or anything comes through that’s significant, [people] can submit damage reports to us so we can either come look at it or do what we need to do on our end to kind of help mitigate stuff,” Freeman said.
If family members need medical oxygen or ventilators during a disaster, they can register with the app to receive these things.
The app is a major step up from the EMA’s previous countywide communication method of social media posts, he said.
When posts go on Facebook, people often see them several days after they are useful, Freeman said.
“It’s all based on the algorithm,” he said.
With hurricane season coming up, it was important to get the app together soon.
Freeman encourages people to use the app to send information to the EMA.
“If you have a report that you want to get us or something to look at, feel free to send it to us,” he said.
The app was built using myemaapp.com. This site allows local EMA services to create apps to interact with the public.
If people experience any problems or glitches with the app, they can contact the EMA through the app or by email at gilmerema@gilmerema.com.