. The most important tool in any emergency is real-time information. You need to know what's coming, what to do and where to go. The 99-cent emergency radio app gives you access not only to police, fire and other scanners, but also maps where events are taking place.

. When disaster strikes, you don't have much time to get coordinated. That's why you should plan ahead. The Disaster Caster app, also 99 cents, helps you do that. Then, during an emergency, it broadcasts your plan to family and friends, telling them what to do, and, most importantly, where to meet up.

You can store multiple disaster plans. Here in California, for example, it would make sense to have different plans for fire, earthquake, flooding and tsunami events. For example, in a fire, you might want to get out of the mountains and head for the coast. In a tsunami, you definitely want to leave the coast and get into the mountains.

Disaster Caster also notifies your emergency contacts about your location -- even if you don't know yourself exactly where you are.

. If someone needs first-aid help, a $3.99 app from the American Heart Association can guide you through the giving of CPR and other basic first aid. It can also call emergency services for you.