Louisville Metro Emergency Services' new LouReady app centralizes emergency resources

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Emergency Services wants residents to stay ahead of the game and be prepared when there's an emergency.

The agency recently launched a new app called LouReady, which will notify citizens of emergency situations, including weather alerts, and provides "instant access to preparedness resources."

"We've been working, it's been an idea of ours to have a one-stop shop, to be able to have everything that we want to try to get messaging out to the community, no matter what the disaster is, in one place," Jody Meiman, executive director of Louisville Metro Emergency Services, said.

LouReady has emergency contact numbers listed for various agencies. The goal is to help neighbors make an emergency plan for their families, with information about how to build an emergency kit.

Meiman said the app is different from the LENSAlert system, which provides real-time emergency notifications to the public, because it can be used to prepare before, during and after.

"They can use it if there is some type of emergency around their house and then they can also use it for recovery-type process, like we saw in the April tornadoes and flooding that we had," he said.

Other agencies, such as Metro 311, LG&E and MSD, have also been brought into the app.

"One of the biggest things is where it says 'make a plan,' like I said we're trying to get people to do this today. Make a plan about something, you know, that can happen potentially around your neighborhood or around your home, building an emergency kit, one for your home and then one for your car, especially if you get potentially stranded in a winter weather type of emergency," said Meiman. "If we have a chemical emergency or a law enforcement issue where people need to know the difference between shelter in place and evacuation, there's information about what they should do there."

The app also includes maps, such as traffic maps and power outage maps. It also has a Safe Walk feature that allows users to send their live location to a friend or family member if they're going on a walk or a run. Both parties need to have the app. It also includes a panic button.

The app is free to download. To download the app on the Apple App Store, click here. To download it on the Google Play Store, click here.

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