A test of the Alberta Emergency Alert system on Wednesday afternoon had some Albertans wondering if there was an actual emergency. A person uses a cell phone in Ottawa on Monday, July 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
EDMONTON – A test of the Alberta Emergency Alert system has some Albertans wondering if there was an actual emergency.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis sent out a statement earlier this week saying the province would be issuing an alert test across the province today at 1:55 p.m.
An online archive of the alerts shows as many as nine test messages went out to Albertans between 1:55 and 2:01 p.m.
No one from the province could immediately be reached for comment on whether the number of alerts was intentional or not.
The hashtag #emergencyalerts quickly started trending on Twitter as cellphones buzzed and screeched out the alerts.
Paul Fairie, an instructor at the University of Calgary, posted: “Is the emergency alert system experiencing an emergency?”
Others asked, “Is Alberta glitching” and “Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?”
One Twitter user said: “It works. IT WORKS,” while another posted, “I think it’s fair to say that test failed.”
Another person simply tweeted: “Omg make it stop.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2023.
