In tricky situations, like a mishap or accident, you need to act fast. Your smartphone can provide invaluable help in an emergency and buy you crucial time. Here are some tips and apps you need to know about.
1. Find out about weather conditions in advance
Are you planning a hike, a sailing trip or a boat trip? It is vital that you find out about the weather, wind and water level before you set out, using the LANDI weather app or the MeteoSwiss app, for instance. Many of the accidents that happen outdoors occur because the conditions suddenly change, taking the unsuspecting by surprise.
2. Get alerts and updates
In addition to the radio, there is now a huge array of apps providing real-time alerts. The Federal Office for Public Health’s AlertSwiss app provides information about national emergencies and local events such as flooding, storms and fires.
3. Stay calm and call the emergency services
If you are involved in an accident or have witnessed an incident, there are three golden rules: stay calm, secure the scene of the emergency and get help.
- Ambulance service: 144
- Police: 117
- Fire service: 118
- European emergency call: 112
112 can also be dialled on locked smartphones. For all emergency numbers, the smartphone also sends its location to the LIS (Location Information Server), where all emergency call centres in Switzerland can obtain the location for 4 hours. This makes it very easy and quick to transfer cases between emergency call centres.
4. Activate the emergency function
You can also alert the emergency services using apps, such as the Rega app or EchoSOS. In an emergency, any emergency service across the world can see your location. The emergency function is built into all smartphones: you can call 112 by rapidly pressing the lock key 5 times (iPhone) or rapidly pressing the on-off button 3 times (Android)
5. Store emergency data
You can store information such as blood group, allergies and emergency contacts on newer mobile phones. This data is displayed on the screen without needing the password and will help the emergency services if you are responsive. > Instructions for iPhones and Android smartphones
