Emergency alerts: Columbia Shuswap Regional District adopts new mass notification system including Revelstoke and area

Residents in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) can now sign up to a new emergency alert system to receive notifications that sends alerts and advisories directly to subscribers.

The CSRD announced on July 23 that it has started using the ‘Alertable’ mass notification system.

The CSRD’s new Alertable app will send emergency notifications to Revelstoke and rural subscribers. Photo: Image of CSRD webpage

Once you’re subscribed to the system, you can receive emergency alerts by mobile app, text, email, phone, website or home smart speakers.

“Alertable is free for the public to use,” the CSRD said in a statement. “It is a highly rated mass notification software that is made in Canada and used in more than 1,000 Canadian communities. Notifications are fast, reliable and easy to see and hear. Users can personalize notifications by type and severity and can opt in for multiple locations.”

Find a link to the sign up page here.

System will cover Revelstoke, CSRD Area B

In the region, the Shuswap Emergency Program administered by the CSRD is the emergency management organization for the lion’s share of the regional district, including Salmon Arm, Sicamous, and the rural electoral areas C, D, E, and F.

However, there are two other separate emergency management organizations. The Revelstoke and Area Emergency Program for Revelstoke and CSRD Area B, and the Golden and Area Emergency Program, serving Golden and CSRD Area A.

The new system will cover all areas, including Revelstoke and the surrounding rural areas outside city limits.

The CSRD says that when you are subscribed, all critical-level alerts will be issued for the areas you have specified. Advisory-level alerts can be customized by the user to suit their needs.

The CSRD noted that because the system has just been activated, it may appear there are few alerts so far when signing up.

City of Revelstoke updates website with emergency management information

See links in this story for a link to a City of Revelstoke July 21 statement and new emergency management webpage. Photo: City of Revelstoke website screegrab

Following critical coverage about City of Revelstoke emergency communications preparedness, the city updated its website with a new emergency information page.

The website contains links to emergency preparedness information.

In a statement issued July 21, the city said it was working with the CSRD on the new system.

The statement touches on a variety of topics, and is heavy on general, abstract statements designed to assure residents that the emergency management program is prepared, but light on specific, actionable information that residents can use. However, the permanent links at the top of the page do have links to emergency management information that didn’t exist prior to recent criticism.

City puts notification system back online after security flaws exposed, patched

After security and privacy issues with the City of Revelstoke’s email and text alert system were exposed, the city shut down its notification system on July 16. On July 22 it announced that the issues have been patched and it is now working again.

The notification system is used for many things, not just emergencies. It sends out alerts about road work, contract tenders, and service disruptions, for example.

“The intent of the Alert Center was not an[d] never intended to be utilized as an Emergency Alert system but rather was intended as a way to notify the public of local issues that may affect their day-to-day activities,” the city said in a statement that was sent out through the notification system on July 22. Read the statement here. The city system still has an “Emergency Alert” option on the selection menu for its system.