British Columbia to expand use of Alert Ready System; test of system set for Wednesday

The province wide Alert System currently in place in event of earthquake and tsunami dangers, is to now be expanded to include Wildfires and Floods, with Mike Farnworth, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General making the announcement this morning.

“The frequency of threats our communities are facing is increasing due to factors such as climate change, and this expansion of the Alert Ready system in B.C. will ensure we have every tool at our disposal to support public safety. 

While it’s important to remember that public emergency alerting is intended to complement, but not replace, emergency alerting already performed by Emergency Management BC and local governments, broadcast intrusive alerts have unique advantages with their reach and impact.”

The wireless alerting system is online and now ready to be deployed for flooding and will be expanded this June to include wildfire threats, in today's announcement the Provincial Government advised that local governments and First Nations had been informed of the expansion of service plans.

A test of the Alert Ready system is planned for Wednesday afternoon at 1:55 PM, the test is part of the provincial work of raising awareness as part of Emergency Preparedness Week.

More on today's announcement of the program expansion can be reviewed here.

Learn more about the Alert Ready Test here, and the Program itself from the program website.

Yesterday, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who is also the Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness outlined the details for a webinar event this evening from 7-8 PM towards preparing our household for any emergencies.

You can register for that event here.

For notes on seismic events along the North Coast and Haida Gwaii see our archive page here, notes on wildfires in the Northwest can be reviewed here.

Further items of interest from the Legislature can be explored here.