Emergency App: Saskatchewan puts safety info into the hands of residents
By Lynne Bell
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听听听听听听听听听听听 As part of its contribution to a national emergency public alert system, the province of Saskatchewan has created both SaskAlert: an emergency-alerting smartphone app and a website: .
听听听听听听听听听听听 Both the app and the website will provide real-time emergency information as situations within the province unfold, and settings will allow users to receive emergency alerts for the entire province, or if users choose, for only certain communities and areas. Urban, rural and First Nations communities throughout the province can all be covered by SaskAlert, and so far, close to one-third of municipalities, towns and First Nations communities have signed up to issue emergency alerts via the system.
听听听听听听听听听听听 There are three alert levels: critical, advisory and test.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter said: 鈥淧ublic safety is one of the highest priorities of our government and in just the last couple of years alone, you've seen some extreme examples of that. We're all familiar with the wildfire situation.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Reiter added that after last summer's wildfires and evacuations in Saskatchewan's north, it was time for the province to focus on a new way to broadcast emergency information.
听听听听听听听听听听听 In addition to extreme weather events and any emergency that could potentially harm people and/or damage property, the system can also be used to advise residents of boil water advisories and other situations that affect public health in the wake of a disaster.
听听听听听听听听听听听 And users will even be notified when the app is closed, so important information will be available to them at all times.
听听听听听听听听听听听 It's estimated that about 97 percent of smartphone users will be able to download the app and Minister Reiter says: 鈥淲e are encouraging all residents to download the SaskAlert app today to receive听 real-time information about emergencies as they unfold.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Of course, emergency alerts will still be broadcast through traditional media outlets, but this app and website are added-and effective-tools to aid residents and visitors to the Land of the Living (and often, lively) Skies, every day, year round.
听听听听听听听听听听听 As someone who volunteered during the 2013 Calgary flood, I witnessed firsthand the power of听 real-time information and social media during a natural disaster. SaskAlert is a further step in the right direction. Hopefully, all of Canada's provinces and territories will adopt the idea, too.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The SaskAlert app is available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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SaskAlert app: to download or not
By Kelly Running
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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 A few weeks ago the Saskatchewan Government released a new app called SaskAlert. At first I just thought it was another weather app, which would let us know if we were under a storm watch or warning. I have a pretty good weather app already and thought to myself that it was kind of useless because I was already getting warnings.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 However, I read into it more and discovered that yes, it looks at tornadoes, plow winds, and blizzards; but it also focuses on wildfires, hazardous material spills, train derailments, drinking water advisories, evacuations, and local emergency declarations. So there鈥檚 more to it than just the weather鈥� although my weather app did warn me about a severe storm the day the app was released at noon, while a coworkers SaskAlert app didn鈥檛 warn her鈥� so they might have a few kinks to work out before it鈥檚 perfectly operational.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 In all honesty though, it鈥檚 a good idea as everyone has their cell phone on them these days. The emergency alert will still be broadcast on television and radio networks as well, which is great because not everyone has a cell phone and what if the cellular network is down? A battery powered radio remains the best backup for modern technology. And battery powered, not charged via usb ports.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 There is no cost for communities to participate in SaskAlert, but they are encouraged to sign up in order to participate. That way the town can issue these emergency alerts, because if the water supply is under a boil water advisory, someone needs to let the app know that it is.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, what鈥檚 the best method of staying in the know? A combination of SaskAlert, talking to people, Google, Facebook, the radio, television, and there鈥檚 many more. The app does allow you to check on warnings for all of Saskatchewan or for just your area whether nearby or for specific areas, while it also has a section which recommends ways to prepare for an emergency.
听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听I personally didn鈥檛 go out and get it right away, but after reading it over, it can鈥檛 hurt to have the app.听
