DOWNTOWN -
A new iPhone application is making it easier to evacuate come a hurricane. ABC26 News Reporter Vanessa Bolano has the details.
If you have ever needed to evacuate from this city, you know the backup on the roads can be brutal. Now a new application will actually help you get out as quickly as possible.
It's called iVacuate, and for $4.99 the applications creators say it'll simplify your life this hurricane season. "This is a New Orleans, Gulf Coast region specific application. There are maps and different pickup point locations that are very specific to New Orleans," says Megan Hargroder, Content Producer at Calliope Digital.
iVacuate comes with storm alerts, a checklist, tips for your pet, a folder for pictures, pickup points for the city assisted evacuation plan, and real time maps.
"It's going to show you where the contraflow is and it's going to route you."
Besides showing you which roads are grid locked, the maps also point out gas stations and hotels, but even those behind this application say the technology is there to help you; you shouldn't rely solely on it. They say using an old fashioned note pad to write down important phone numbers and your evacuation plan is still a must.
Robert Fogarty, Director with Evacuteer.org says, "In a perfect world this thing and the iPhone, and all of our cell phones work, but we need to make sure that were preparing completely."
So it won't replace your evacuation plan, but it may help you get past any roadblocks and take some of the stress off your mind.
"It's kind of an all in one so you're not running around saying, 'Did I forget this?' 'Did I forget that?' You can just check it all and it's all in one place," says Hargroder.
To download the application just go to iTunes. It's $4.99 which includes any updates.
Creators say they're working on a similar application for the Droid that's expected to come out in time for next hurricane season.
If you have ever needed to evacuate from this city, you know the backup on the roads can be brutal. Now a new application will actually help you get out as quickly as possible.
It's called iVacuate, and for $4.99 the applications creators say it'll simplify your life this hurricane season. "This is a New Orleans, Gulf Coast region specific application. There are maps and different pickup point locations that are very specific to New Orleans," says Megan Hargroder, Content Producer at Calliope Digital.
iVacuate comes with storm alerts, a checklist, tips for your pet, a folder for pictures, pickup points for the city assisted evacuation plan, and real time maps.
"It's going to show you where the contraflow is and it's going to route you."
Besides showing you which roads are grid locked, the maps also point out gas stations and hotels, but even those behind this application say the technology is there to help you; you shouldn't rely solely on it. They say using an old fashioned note pad to write down important phone numbers and your evacuation plan is still a must.
Robert Fogarty, Director with Evacuteer.org says, "In a perfect world this thing and the iPhone, and all of our cell phones work, but we need to make sure that were preparing completely."
So it won't replace your evacuation plan, but it may help you get past any roadblocks and take some of the stress off your mind.
"It's kind of an all in one so you're not running around saying, 'Did I forget this?' 'Did I forget that?' You can just check it all and it's all in one place," says Hargroder.
To download the application just go to iTunes. It's $4.99 which includes any updates.
Creators say they're working on a similar application for the Droid that's expected to come out in time for next hurricane season.
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