A new app will be used to communicate emergency notifications within the Strathcona Regional District.
The new system will come into effect on May 2 with the district switching from Connect Rocket to Alertable. The district says the new system will be used because it “provides additional ways to notify people.”
Alerts can be sent with the mobile app with an “Override Silent Mode” feature for critical alerts along with websites, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Alexa, Apple Homepo and Google Nest, Slack, Microsoft Teams and others.
The SRD says the previous system only provided notifications through landline calls, cellphones and text messages.
The system is also the only commercial emergency alerting platform that is fully integrated with Canada’s national public alert system, Alert Ready, according to the district.
“Information is a vital form of aid in itself. Disaster-affected people need information as much as water, food, medicine, or shelter. Information can save lives, livelihoods, and resources,” said SRD chair Brad Unger. “This is why the regional district is switching to Alertable as our public emergency mass notification service.”
Residents who were registered with the previous system will get a notification from Alertable when the system begins, according to the district. They ask people to add the new phone number with the notification to their cell phone, titled SRD Emergency Notification.
The app can be downloaded for free, but the SRD says it is not mandatory as calls and texts will still be sent.
The district encourages unregistered residents to register with the system as soon as possible.
