New K72 app helps Portuguese prepare 72-hour emergency kits for disasters

The app was created in Montijo by Carlos Batista, in coordination with this municipality's civil protection, but is intended for all Portuguese people and helps them assemble a "kit" for the first 72 hours after a disaster. People in Portugal now have an app that can help them follow the European Commission’s recommendation to have an emergency kit ready in case of natural disasters or other emergencies. The app is called "K72 SMPC Montijo" because it was developed in collaboration with the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Montijo. It is not just for residents of this municipality and can be used by people anywhere in the country. The K comes from "kit" and "72" refers to 72 hours, the period for which people should have emergency provisions in case a disaster such as an earthquake or flood leaves them trapped. The first 72 hours are considered the most critical phase of an emergency. The app was developed by Carlos Batista who, besides being a documentary filmmaker, director of photography and drone operator, is also the coordinator of the Local Civil Protection Unit of Montijo and Afonsoeiro. "The idea came from a desire to create a tool that would not just inform, but push people to take action. There is a lot of information on how to act in emergency situations, but it is not always easy to turn it into concrete measures in our daily lives," says the creator of the app. "I would like K72 to help people take the first step and realise that preparation starts long before an emergency happens," he adds. André Morais, coordinator of Montijo’s SMPC, stresses that "the challenge is to help each citizen turn what they know into concrete preparedness". In other words, "to think about the risks they are exposed to, agree how to contact family members and know how to act if an emergency disrupts their routines". Morais says that the goal is not only to get people to assemble the kit, but also to make them talk within the family about what to do in an emergency: "I would like it to lead people to set aside some time to prepare their family. That it would be a reason for a conversation at home: if an emergency happens, do we know what to do? How do we contact each other? Where do we meet? Who needs help?", he says. With the app, users follow the instructions to put in a backpack the various items they may need in different emergency situations, not only to stay safely at home, but also for evacuation, for the car and even for pets. In practical terms, the app tells users what to include in each backpack and allows them to mark what they already have and what is still missing. If they have difficulty finding the products, it redirects them to an example item in an online shop. For example, in the case of an evacuation, the backpack should, according to the app’s creators, contain 45 items that provide shelter and cover, water, food, combustion/fire, cutting tools, ropes and also personal hygiene, medication, communications and power, personal documents and navigation. Through the app, each user marks the articles they already have and those they still need, so they can keep track of the stock in each backpack. This list of 45 items includes things such as LifeStraw filters and water purification tablets, portable power stations to run electrical devices, or a kit to access the Meshcore network, which allows communication when traditional mobile networks fail. The K72 SMPC Montijo app also teaches users how to draw up a family emergency plan, serves as a channel for Civil Protection alerts, and includes an inventory that warns when food and medicines in the backpacks are about to expire. If the worst happens, users can always consult the app for a series of short, precise instructions on what to do in each situation. These include, for example, an urban fire, the presence of toxic gases, an earthquake, heatwaves or cold snaps, prolonged power and water outages, floods and inundations, and more. The app works with or without internet access, as long as the mobile device has battery power. For privacy reasons, the data each user enters in the app are stored only on the mobile device, with no external database or data sharing. The creators’ goal is for the K72 app to be used across the country and to help people in Portugal be prepared if or when the worst happens. In March last year, the European Commission presented a strategy calling for harmonisation between the various member states on strategies for preventing emergency situations. It urges all European citizens to assemble a kit with essential items for survival in the first 72 hours after a disaster, which may be not only a natural catastrophe but also a military attack by a foreign power.