CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – An emergency notification system will be tested later this month for residents within the Strathcona Regional District (SRD).
Connect Rocket is the mass notification system used by the SRD. Voice messages are sent to landlines, with voice and text messages sent to mobile devices.
The regional district’s protective services coordinator, Shaun Koopman, is suggesting that residents save the Connect Rocket community number of 778-762-3201 to their cell phones.
Connect Rocket testing is scheduled for Thursday, January 31st.
The following is a list of times when the testing will take place in different areas:
City of Campbell River – 10:00 a.m.
Area B, Cortes Island – 10:15 a.m.
Area D, Oyster Bay/Buttle Lake – 10:30 a.m.
Campbell River Floodplain – 10:45 a.m.
West Coast Tsunami Warnings – 11:00 a.m.
Area A, Sayward Valley – 11:15 a.m.
Village of Tahsis – 11:30 a.m.
Village of Sayward – 11:45 a.m.
Oyster River Floodplain – 12:00 p.m.
Village of Zeballos – 12:15 p.m.
Village of Gold River – 12:30 p.m.
Area C, Quadra Island – 12:45 p.m.
Area C, East Redonda Island – 1:00 p.m.
Area C, Maurelle Island – 1:15 p.m.
Area C, Read Island – 1:30 p.m.
Area C, Sonora Island – 1:45 p.m.
Area C, West Redonda Island – 2:00 p.m.
“The Strathcona Regional District is reminding people to make sure you and your loved ones are as safe as possible in an emergency by signing up for early notification. This will help you know what to do and where to go in the event of a disaster,” Koopman stated in a released issued by the SRD.
“Local governments and emergency responders have systems in place to inform the community when a disaster strikes, and to make sure people know how to best react. The best thing people can do ahead of time is prepare, with supplies, plans and by signing up for emergency notification.”
Further information on Connect Rocket in the Strathcona Regional District can be found at strathconard.connectrocket.com.
ALERT READY
A second emergency notification system is in use as well, although local governments do not initiate it.
Alert Ready is a Canada-wide program. It allows emergency management crews in each province and territory to issue their own emergency alerts. The notifications are sent to all mobile devices, with no signup needed.
Local governments do not initiate Alert Ready, and the most recent test in British Columbia was on November 28th.
The SRD will give advance notice of the next Alert Ready test once that’s announced by the provincial government.
For more details on Alert Ready, visit www.alertready.ca.
