What to know about the emergency alerts coming to your cellphone Friday

Starting Friday, all Calgarians with LTE-enabled smartphones will receive emergency text messages under the new national wireless public alerting system.

All LTE-capable phones will receive alerts about emergency situations under new nationwide program

CBC News · Posted: Apr 05, 2018 6:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 5, 2018

Tom Sampson, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, says the new alert system will be a valuable way for officials to reach citizens where they live and work when there's an emergency. (CBC)

Starting Friday, all Calgarians with LTE-enabled smartphones will receive emergency text messages under the new national wireless public alert system.

LTE stands for "Long Term Evolution." According to one mobile provider, it's short for a very technical process for high-speed data for phones and other mobile devices.

Tom Sampson, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, says the high-tech system called Alert Ready will be used to warn people in the city about critical, life-threatening situations.

It will be used sparingly

Sampson says the tool will be used very judiciously, given that the recipients have no way to opt out of the service.

"We're not going to send these things out lightly," he said. "It's not something we're going to be hitting your phone with a lot."

Four agencies will be able to issue alerts:

The Calgary Emergency Management Agency.
The Calgary Police Service, for issuing Amber Alerts about missing children.
Environment Canada, for weather emergencies.
The River Forecast Centre, for incidents such as flash flooding.

Other possible scenarios that could warrant an alert would be dangerous, unfolding police matters and evacuation orders, Sampson said.

Messages appear as texts

The messages will appear like texts, but they cannot be replied to.

The province sent out 16 emergency alerts last summer using the old system — including nine for fire, five for environmental issues like heavy winds and one Amber Alert.

Sampson says the new Alert Ready system's ability to reach so many people at once makes it hugely valuable to emergency management officials.

"If your phone is on, and it's in an area where LTE is accessible, then you will get the message," he said.

What if you don't have an LTE phone?

The city will still make use of Facebook and the municipal website to communicate during emergencies.

Sampson says Calgarians should also download the Alberta Emergency Alert (AEA) app, which he says is an especially good tool for people who do not have LTE phones, or who want to receive notifications from other parts of the province.

Sampson says that with many younger children now carrying cellphones, parents should explain the new system to them and work out family plans for emergency situations.

"Those cellphones that the kids are carrying will get the alert. So, it's a good opportunity to have a talk about what's your household emergency plan. What will your child do when their cellphone goes off and says, 'Seek shelter, do this, do that,'" he said. "So, have that conversation."

Location-specific alerts may be coming

For time being, the alerts will be citywide, not neighbourhood specific. But Sampson says work is underway to make the alerts more location-specific.

The public will get test alerts on their phones once a year, including a nationwide test on May 9.

The implementation of the emergency alert system is part of a broader makeover of Alberta's Emergency Management Act, which was announced Tuesday by provincial Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson.

The makeover is intended to clarify roles and improve efficiency during disasters, such as the wildfires in Fort McMurray in 2016, Slave Lake in 2011 and Waterton Lakes National Park in 2017, and the 2013 Alberta floods.