Subscription to the region's new emergency alert service was modest through 2020 with limited opportunities to put it to the test. (NanaimoNewsNOW illustration)

By Alex Rawnsley

EMERGENCY ALERTS

Moderate uptake for new emergency comms service through Nanaimo, Oceanside

Jan 25, 2021 | 5:30 AM

NANAIMO — Opportunities were thankfully limited for local emergency management staff to flex the full muscle of their new communications tool.

Registration for the opt-in service, Voyent Alert, continued in spurts with just over 11,200 people subscribed to updates from the City of Nanaimo since the program launched in late 2019.

Karen Lindsay, emergency program manager, told NanaimoNewsNOW their use of the service was mainly limited to tests so far but it can be a valuable tool in large scale events.

“It could be evacuation of a neighbourhood due to a hazmat incident. It could be similar to what we saw in 2018…where during our severe windstorm event where we had issues with water throughout the community.”

The city pays $7,000 a year as a base charge which covers a bulk of their needs. Nominal fees are added if the city exceeds their planned usage.

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Subscribers can receive alerts via phone, text or email. Smartphone users have access to an app which provides push notifications. Alerts are tailored and can be distributed to a single neighbourhood or the whole city.

Lindsay said the new system is especially handy for connecting with seniors who may only have a landline.

“Some of the systems are very robotic and in this day and age with spam calls and some of the trends we see targetting seniors especially, this was much clearer in how the message was delivered to them.”

Uptake elsewhere on the mid-Island mirrored the measured pace in Nanaimo.

Emergency Oceanside, covering Parksville and Qualicum Beach signed up just under 2,000 users or 18 per cent of households in those communities since launching in late 2019. Twelve alerts were sent to subscribers in 2020 at a total cost of $2,500.

The expansive Regional District of Nanaimo counts 3,550 subscribers, approximately nine per cent of the population since launching in September 2020.

Catherine Morrison, RDN emergency services manager, said they used the system extensively to send out high-stream flow advisories and warnings during a flooding event in Parksville and Cedar in January.

“Once we had more data and rainfall events, we were able to utilize the emergency notification feature to send out the evacuation alerts in residents in that geographical location.”

Morrison said the system provides notices and warnings much like a regular email or text message. Emergency alerts come with more impactful alarms, triggering a more immediate response.

In addition to the January flooding, alerts were distributed for October’s ShakeOut earthquake drill and the Schnitzer Steel fire in early September.

Since launching, the RDN has sent 16 non-urgent notifications and three emergency alerts. The service cost $7,584 in annual and usage fees for 2020.

Information on how to register for alerts is available through the City of Nanaimo, Regional District of Nanaimo or Emergency Oceanside websites

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alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley