Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday launched a new app for smartphones and tablets designed to provide information about local businesses, services and events for the Spring, Klein and Cypress Creek communities.

The free Discover Northwest Houston download is available for Apple and Android devices.

The app includes information about upcoming events, restaurants, stores, news and weather as well as sections for seniors, schools, health and real estate.

Harris County Precinct 4 will use the platform as one of its communication tools in addition to its current web and social media presence, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said.

The app also includes portals for Houston Northwest Medical Center and Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital.

“Our goal is to make this the app for the Northwest Houston area and for it to serve as the central source of information," HNWCC President Barbara Thomason said. "If a business finds that they are not listed in the app, all they have to do is call or email the chamber, and we can get them listed whether they are a chamber member or not.”

The app could also prove useful in emergencies, such as the situation the region faced last year during Hurricane Harvey, Thomason said.

“We realized in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey that there were many good sources for information, but there were a number of different places one had to go to access it," she said. "It is our goal to be able to push out emergency communications as well as valuable community news specific to the Northwest Houston region."

For more information, visit the chamber website at www.houstonnwchamber.org The app can be downloaded through the Apple app store and Google Play.