Auckland Civil Defence has launched a new alert system, including a new smartphone application.
The system it rolled out on Tuesday to help the region better prepare for natural disasters includes targeting the half million Aucklanders with smartphones.
Civil Defence says the app will synchronise with its website, and provide another platform for people to be informed and to share alerts on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
It says the app will send notifications about when any impending disaster, such as a tsunami or cyclone, will hit the region.
It will also send low level alerts for road closures, floods, slips and bad weather.
