New App Aims To Help Tulsa Families Prepare For Disaster Situations

Just in time for severe weather, the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency released a free app to help families prepare for disasters.

The app is called Tulsa Ready and it's for Google and Apple devices.

One of the first things you can do is make a plan by answering a few questions and making a supply kit list, grocery list -basically just prepare for any disaster.

During a disaster, information from the National Weather Service will be fed through the Tulsa Ready app.

The director of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, Roger Jolliff, said the app is a one-stop shop when it comes to communicating during severe weather.

"Technology's changing. Years ago, we gave lots and lots of talks about how to prepare your family for disasters - gave people templates to go home and write their family's disaster plans. now this can all be done digitally on your phone," he said.

The app can also be useful after a disaster, especially when it can be difficult to get in touch with loved ones by calling them.

Jolliff said when cell towers overload during a disaster, the app can help you connect with your family.

It will also show where shelter and food stations are set up in your area.

Jolliff said he encourages everyone to download the Tulsa Ready app before severe weather hits.

“You’re really helping out the community to get the information through a system like this instead of calling each other on cell phones and trying to tie up all the cell phone towers in a very inefficient way,” he said.