Wednesday afternoon alerts, put Province's Emergency Alert System to the test

A cel phone message from
Wednesday putting the
BC Emergency Alert system
to the test

Shortly before 2 PM this afternoon, cel phones received alerts and television shows and radio broadcasts were interrupted as the Province of British Columbia put its information delivery system to the test.

The messages flashed to mobile devices at 1:55 PM, the word TEST allowing for residents of British Columbia to relax just a little, as they participated in the latest review of how the nation's emergency alert system works.

The Federal Government issued the heads up on the test last week, noting that the Cross Canada test program provided residents an opportunity to make sure that their mobile devices were capable of receiving the alerts, which in the case of a real emergency would have outlined important information related to incidents of immediate danger to British Columbians.

Last Friday, Mike Farnworth the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety, Solicitor General and Minister Responsible for Emergency Preparedness made note of the steps the province has taken to improve the emergency notification system.

“Last spring, we launched wireless alerting in B.C. to broaden our reach and ensure more people have access to critical and possibly life-saving information in the event of an emergency or disaster ... Regular testing of emergency systems is an important part of ensuring this province is ready in the event of an emergency by identifying any gaps and making certain processes are working correctly. Next week’s test will do just that, allowing people to ensure their devices are compatible and also raising awareness about the importance of emergency preparedness."

The Minister's statement on this week's test also included some background on how British Columbians can test their devices to make sure they are compatible with the test system, as well as to outline the various other ways that the province will be sharing important information in the event of any form of emergency.

You can review those notes here.

Some background on local emergency preparation steps can be reviewed here.

For items of interest related to Emergency Responders in the Northwest see our archive page here.

Further background on provincial initiatives can be reviewed from our Legislature page.