American Red Cross launches Spanish-language apps for first aid and disaster preparedness

The American Red Cross has launched six free Spanish-language apps for disasters and home emergencies with easy, lifesaving information that will help keep families safe. They are the Red Cross First Aid, Hurricane, Tornado, Earthquake, Wildfire and Flood apps. The Red Cross First Aid app gives people direct access to expert advice for everyday emergencies. The five Red Cross disaster preparedness apps give people local, real-time information for severe weather or disaster threats and offer step-by-step instructions that let users know what to do before, during and after a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, wildfire and flood.

“The free Red Cross Spanish-language apps make mobile devices a lifeline for emergency information for families,” Nancy Orlando, regional chief executive officer of the American Red Cross South Jersey Region, said in a press release. “The Red Cross wants as many people as possible to benefit from the crucial emergency information available via mobile apps.”

Photo via Google
Six Red Cross apps are now available
in the Spanish-language.

The Red Cross created and released the Spanish-language apps at a time when smartphone use among Hispanics is surging. A 2013 study by the Pew Research Center found that Latinos own smartphones and go online from a mobile device at comparable and sometimes higher rates than other groups of Americans.

The Red Cross apps have a feature that allows users to easily toggle between English and Spanish language. Before, users needed to set their entire phone language to either English or Spanish.

With its experience in working with people during disasters, the Red Cross knows individuals behave differently when under stress such as a first aid emergency or weather disaster. In these times, people want to consume vital information in the language they are most comfortable with. The Spanish toggle makes the life-saving information in the apps easier to get in emergency situations.

All of the apps offer pre-loaded content ensuring first aid and disaster preparedness guidance is available anytime, anywhere, even if Internet connection is not accessible.

Another important feature in the disaster preparedness apps allows users to let family and friends quickly know that they are safe with a customizable “I’m Safe” alert for Facebook, Twitter, email and text. The apps also have interactive quizzes that allow people to earn badges that they can share with friends on social networks.

“With natural disasters, it’s vital that people can receive and share warnings, preparedness information and their own status immediately with their social networks, and that’s what these Red Cross apps do,” Orlando said. “If people can take only one step to make their family better prepared for disasters, they should download these free Red Cross apps and help their loved ones download them, too.”

The Spanish-language apps build on the Red Cross legacy of teaching life-saving skills to people across the country. Overall, the award-winning Red Cross apps have been downloaded more than 4.7 million times.

Each one of the Spanish-language apps is free and available for iPhones and Android devices in the Apple App and Google Play stores. They can also be found at redcross.org/spanishapps (English) or redcross.org/appsenespanol (Spanish).

While apps can prepare people for disasters, it is important to remember that downloading any of the Red Cross apps is not a substitute for training. To learn more about Red Cross First Aid and CPR/AED courses or to register, visit redcross.org/takeaclass.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.