N.W.T., Yukon gov'ts to test emergency alert system
Residents will see and hear it Wednesday on radio, TV, compatible wireless devices
People living in the Northwest Territories and Yukon will hear their territory's public alert system on their radio, TV and compatible wireless devices Wednesday.
The N.W.T. government will conduct its test at 9:55 a.m. local time while in Yukon, the test will take place at 1:55 p.m. local time, according to a news release from Pelmorex Corp., which operates the technical infrastructure of the Alert Ready system across Canada.
Nunavut will not be participating in the test. It will however be conducted in all 10 provinces on Wednesday.
"It provides an opportunity to validate and improve the performance and reliability of the system and to ensure it operates as it is intended in the event of an imminent life-threatening situation," the news release from Pelmorex states.
According to the company, the national alert system has delivered more than 170 emergency alerts since the start of the year, related to events such as tornadoes, flooding, fires and Amber Alerts.
Check wireless device compatibility, says N.W.T. gov't
The N.W.T. government said in a news release Tuesday that people may not receive the alert on their wireless devices "for a variety of reasons, including device compatibility, connection to an LTE network, cell tower coverage, device software and settings."
It says it encourages the public to check their device compatibility on their wireless service provider's website and make sure they have the latest software update installed.
The N.W.T. government said the territory's alert system, which is part of the national public alerting system, is still under development, but is expected to be fully implemented in 2021.