City to monitor need for Notify Me Now
By Collin Gallant on February 23, 2018.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant County and city administrators will evaluate how their system to provide localized emergency instructions may or may not be needed once the federal government expands its emergency alert system this spring to include cellphones. Major wireless providers will be required by April 2018 to make their systems compatible to traditional emergency alerts by order of the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission. The “Notify Me Now” computer system sends out localized instructions to landlines, cellphones or email during a state of emergency for residents who register addresses. In 2016, the City of Medicine Hat added the contracted service into its emergency plans saying it filled important gaps in emergency alert protocols, and allowed Cypress County residents to sign up as well. Merrick Brown, the city’s director of emergency management, said the internal system could provide a valuable service, but his department is evaluating the issue. “There could be potential overlap between the wireless public alert process and Notify Me Now,” he told the News. “We want the public and councils to know that this could be an issue. It’s going to be very much an evaluation process that will take place for us in 2018.” County Coun. Michelle McKenzie, who represents Hilda and Schuler, where Notify Me Now was deployed last October during a major wild fire, said she likes the idea of multiple systems and keeping both in place as backup. “In light of what happened last year, I’m hoping something like this would make things a lot easier,” she said. McKenzie is however hoping to learn more about the federal plan in light of intermittent cellular service in vast expanses of the county. Also, the federal system is geared to calls, while Notify Me Now gives the option of receiving text messages. “There’s lots of places around here where you can’t get a call out, but you can text.” The software is provided under licence by U.S. firm Everbridge for about $18,000 per year, and also acts as an internal communication network for emergency crews, either directing work or recalling employees to work. County councillors heard at their regular meeting in Dunmore this week that Public Safety Canada will soon have the ability to contact cellphones with emergency alerts that are currently broadcast on traditional television and radio broadcasts. The overall effect could be similar to the Notify Me Now system, said Brown, but those messages usually cover large geographic areas. The ability for local emergency officials to tailor Notify Me Now messages to specific addresses was a major selling point of the system in 2016. About 3,300 individuals have registered for the program, which already incorporates local phone numbers included in white and yellow pages listings, about 28,000 in total. The Notify Me Now system was discussed shortly after the 2013 floods in Medicine Hat. It’s never been activated in the City of Medicine Hat beyond testing, though a city wide message was sent last October with general information after a heavy wind storm. That same storm pushed a massive wildfire across northern parts of Cypress County, burning fields and some buildings. Brown told the News that a message was broadcast to a relatively small number of rural registrants during the emergency and performed well. McKenzie stressed the importance of registering for the program. 22
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