Environment hazard app officially launched today

An application that will allow Vincentians to quickly and easily report environmental hazards to the relevant authorities is officially being launched today.

More information and a demonstration will be included in today’s launch of the ‘myHAZ-VCT’ app, which was designed to provide scientists, emergency managers and citizens of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), with firsthand information about a range of natural hazards and environmental phenomena that occur in the country.

But Professor Richard Robertson of the UWI Seismic Unit who spoke briefly about the app on the airwaves this week, said locals will more or less “become a reporter of phenomena that’s happening”.

“The idea is that the scientists and the NEMO [National Emergency Management Organisation] people can’t be everywhere …and it’s the citizens going to be affected, going to be seeing things …” Robertson said on WEFM on Wednesday morning, while adding that work has been ongoing on the application for some time.

The geologist was a part of the UWI Seismic team which monitored and provided the nation with updates on La Soufriere when it erupted last April.

He explained that the app will not just cater to volcanic hazards but also those caused from other disasters.

Once equipped with the application on a smart device, an individual can take a photo or video of a hazard, which will then be submitted to NEMO and UWI Seismic to be validated before it is posted for all app users to see.

The interactive app will automatically geo-reference where that specific photo was taken so that others are informed of the particular area in which the hazard is located.

The myHaz-VCT app can be downloaded to Android and Apple platforms via the App Store or Play Store.