Downloads of walkie-talkie app surge ahead of storm’s wrath

WASHINGTON — Last year, it took hurricanes Harvey and Irma — two of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history — to make Zello the most downloaded app online.

This year, it appears, the public isn’t waiting for disaster to start preparing digitally.

On Wednesday, two days before Hurricane Florence is expected to slam into the Carolinas, Zello — the walkie-talkie app favored by rescuers to communicate in disaster zones — hit the top spot in the App Store.

The app has surged in recent days alongside several other weather apps, revealing that the public has learned from last year’s storms that apps can be a crucial component of emergency preparedness, according to Adam Blacker, a research analyst for Apptopia, a company that tracks the mobile app economy. “Zello is the No. 1 app today in the App Store and has been gaining in downloads for several days,” Blacker said. “There are also three weather-tracking apps in the top 30, which is very uncommon. Another app being downloaded in preparation for Florence is Gas-Buddy. “People can use this app to prepare for either travel to safe zones or for use in their backup generators,” he added.

Unlike walkie-talkie radios, Zello does not use radio waves. But as long as there is a network or WiFi connection — including a 2G or 3G connection — Zello allows people to use their phone like a two-way radio. Users can create their own channels to communicate with family members, for example, allowing groups of people to communicate in real time as if they’re using walkie-talkies.

The app rose to prominence in the wake of Harvey, when the all-volunteer Cajun Navy used the app to coordinate a chaotic rescue operation in place of overwhelmed public officials in Houston.