WEYBURN - Over the past weekend, Saskatchewan residents received SaskAlerts to keep the public informed about a dangerous situation regarding stabbings that occurred in the James Smith Cree Nation. Emergency alerts were sent out to keep residents up to date.
We live in the digital age with a 24/7 news cycle, where we expect information to be available instantly and on demand, regardless of where we are. Most people get the news via social media, the Internet, apps on their phones or other non-traditional outlets.
SaskAlert is the Government of Saskatchewan’s emergency public alerting program that provides critical information on emergencies in real time, so you can take action to protect yourself, your family and your property. The system can be used to update residents with important information on disasters and emergencies where lives are at risk.
Alerts can be issued by: Environment Canada, Government of Saskatchewan ministries, crowns and agencies as well as participating local governing jurisdictions. These emergency alerts can range from weather warnings that might affect a whole community, to information on missing children, and as noted recently, a search for dangerous offenders.
It can be jarring to receive the SaskAlert on a mobile phone, as the system is set up to immediately inform the resident with the loud Canada Ready Alert sound. It is set up this way for a reason, so that critical and potentially life-saving alerts are heard and noticed as soon as they are sent out.
Early warning and emergency notification systems have been constantly evolving and changing. These alerts were always designed to catch attention, from the big bonfires that early man used as warning signals, to the use of church bells or special fire bells to alert residents of danger in the area.
Early warning systems developed more rapidly during the First and Second World Wars, when massive and more centralized alerts were needed to alert citizens of danger.
Now these alerts need to be mobile and easily accessed by residents, and the SaskAlert system does just that by sending instant notifications to mobile phones. It is important to remember when an alert is sent out, residents need to take time and pay attention to the emergency, responding as necessary.
It is important that residents have the information they need to be prepared in any emergency. This includes making emergency response plans, procedures, creating contact lists and exercises, in anticipation of a likely emergency. The goal of these preparedness activities is to make sure that the government is ready and able to respond quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency.
