Messages similar to the one pictured will show up on phones and televisions, as well as broadcast on radio, as part of a test of the province's emergency alert system. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

URGENT ALERT

Province testing beefed-up emergency alert system ahead of fire season

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NANAIMO — Phone service along with television and radio broadcasts will be interrupted briefly Wednesday afternoon.

The scheduled 1:55 p.m. test of the province’s emergency alert system is designed to ensure it is ready to make people aware of major events such as natural disasters or Amber Alerts.

Following deadly fires last summer and flooding through the Lower Mainland and Interior in October 2021, the service will now be geared to provide regional and province-wide alerts for threats stemming from floods or wildfires.

“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,” Mike Farnworth, public safety minister, said in a release.

People can expect their phones to play a loud tone, even if they’re on vibrate or silent mode, and display the following message:

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“This is a TEST of the British Columbia Emergency Alerting System, issued by Emergency Management British Columbia. This is ONLY a TEST. If this had been an actual emergency or threat, you would now hear instructions that would assist you to protect you and your family. For further information, go to: www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca. This is ONLY a TEST, no action is required.”

Similar tones and messages will display on televisions as well as be broadcast over the radio.

BC RCMP deployed the system in late March as they tried to locate a mother and two young children believed to have been abducted by the children’s father.

An amber alert interrupted television broadcasts in late March as BC RCMP searched for a missing northern B.C. family.

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