App Helps Israelis Seek Bomb Shelters

Smartphone apps provide a wide range of services, including information and entertainment, but in Israel, the apps have another unique life-saving use – finding a bomb shelter.

Following the recent security-related tension in northern Israel as civil war rages in Syria, i-Apps, an Israeli Smartphone application development company, has updated its "Merkhav Mugan" [residential secure space] app to include all secure shelters throughout all of Israel.

The GPS-based app helps people fleeing from rocket fire to locate the closest bomb shelter or secure area, providing the fastest route to it. Updates from the emergency authorities are also provided in real time. The app enables anyone to add information about available shelters which are not yet listed on the app.

The app was first launched six months ago and provided service to the residents of southern Israel who were under the threat of rocket fire from Gaza. i-Apps received information from the municipalities on the location of shelters in the north and have updated the info on the existing app.

The idea was presented to i-Apps by two residents of Ashdod, who have learned the necessity of this life saving app first hand.