Storm Watch: App hopes to keep Bajans alert

by Anesta Henry

A smartphone app to keep Barbadians aware of emergencies like storms could get its first major test eleven months after it was launched.

The Bajan Alert app promises to keep users in touch with accurate information on Tropical Storm Dorian, said its director Kemar Saffrey.

Launched last October, the Bajan Alert app brings together essential services, including the Royal Barbados Police Force, the Barbados Ambulance Service, the Barbados Port Inc., Grantley Adams International Airport, the Department of Emergency Management and the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), together with the island’s major media houses and other agencies.

The app promises to provide accurate and timely alerts directly from the agencies responsible for handling them, in wake of “fake news”  from anonymous sources regarding natural disasters, he added.

Saffrey told Barbados TODAY: “I just want to remind people that they can download the app and stay get accurate information from the emergency services, like the fire service and the District Emergency Organisations, and others.

“So as this storm passes, they will be receiving their alerts.”