Free app provides N.H. emergency notification

CONCORD, N.H. - A new smartphone app will allow New Hampshire residents - and anyone else for that matter - to receive instant alerts from safety officials on public health hazards throughout the state like floods or blizzards specific to the area in which the phone is located.
It's called NH Alerts and it is a free service provided by the New Hampshire Department of Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The emergency and community messages are initiated by authorized public safety officials at the state level and severe weather warnings are initiated directly by the National Weather Service.
The app delivers notifications to subscribers within a specific geographic area.
After you downloads the app and select your settings, all you have to do is enable your phone's GPS function and you'll be notified, said Michael Todd, public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Safety.
Todd said when an emergency occurs, app users will hear a tone they've selected and will be able to see the alert and be able to opt for a verbal bulletin.
There are several disaster notifications categories like blizzards or coastal flooding. Users will decide which categories they want to receive alerts on.
"If you're an alert junkie you can sign up for them all," Todd said. "We just don't want you to sign up for too many and then gets sick of getting them and delete the app."
You can also choose the radius in miles of emergency notifications you want to be apprised of, he said.
"It could be five miles, it could be 20," Todd added.
Smartphone users can download NH Alerts from the Google play store for Android devices or from Apple store for IPhones.
Users can also download the app here.
For those who don't have a smartphone they can go to readynh.gov and sign up for alerts on your email or landline. Just enter a New Hampshire address (it could be any address, such as a grocery store or convenience store) and you will be notified of emergencies within the scope of incident and radius you choose.
NH Alerts is used by New Hampshire public safety officials to inform and protect state residents and visitors.
But if you live in South Lebanon you could simply fill in a store address in East Rochester to receive alert details from across the city.
Likewise, if you're from Massachusetts and have a summer home on Milton Three Ponds in Milton you can use that residence.
"This app is for everybody" Todd said.