New notification service sends free disaster alerts straight to your phone

When severe weather is approaching, flood waters are starting to rise or there’s another type of disaster on the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Council aims to provide important alerts to the community as quickly as possible.

That’s why council has made it even easier to get the alerts you need, straight to your phone or tablet, with its CoastAlert notification service.

The push notifications, linked to information on council’s award-winning Disaster Hub website, are a new feature of council’s SCCApp.

To receive the alerts, simply download the SCCApp from the AppStore or Google Play. Emergency notifications will be automatically sent to smartphones and other mobile devices with the app installed.

Sunshine Coast Local Disaster Management Chair Mayor Mark Jamieson said the CoastAlert notifications were developed as one of many communication tools to help keep our community safe.

“Council’s Disaster Hub site has all the information needed to be prepared before, during and after a severe weather event – including weather warnings, road closures and evacuation centres,” Mayor Jamieson said.

“The new CoastAlert notification service provides automatic, important alerts for residents and visitors straight to their phones and smart devices to complement both the extensive information on Disaster Hub and the updates council’s provides via social media during a disaster.

“To receive the alerts, it’s as simple as downloading the SCCApp and setting yourself up as a user. Nothing further is required.”