Rockland County officials are encouraging residents to download a new emergency preparedness app designed to provide critical information and resources before, during and after emergencies.

September is National Preparedness Month.

The Rockland Emergency Management app brings a variety of emergency preparedness tools together in a single platform.

Officials noted that Rockland County has its own weather stations, allowing residents to access local conditions.

According to Orin Ben-Jacob, emergency planning and information coordinator for the Rockland Fire and Emergency Services department, the goal was to make emergency preparedness information easier to find.

"The problem is, everything was all over the place, right? Depending on what aspect of emergency preparedness you needed, you had to go there. You had to go here. When everything comes into one key location, it makes it a lot easier for people to actually utilize it," Ben-Jacobs says.

Ben-Jacob, who was part of the team that helped develop the app, highlighted a registry that residents with disabilities or special needs should be aware of so that first responders know that during an emergency those people may need additional assistance.

County officials say the app has already been downloaded a few thousand times since its launch last month.

Additional features include a direct link to the Orange and Rockland power outage map, access to 5-1-1 traffic, and a list of cooling and warming center locations.

There's also a damage reporting feature following major storms or disasters that will assist the county in collecting information for potential state and federal disaster declarations.

Chris Kear, director of Rockland Fire and Emergency Services, said the app also creates another way for emergency officials to communicate with residents.

"It's another tool in the toolbox. To have this additional app that the public can use and that we can also stay in touch with the public, I think it's really important that they have this information for preparedness," Kear says.

The app is free to download and is available for both Apple and Google devices.