CITY-WIDE NOTIFYNOW SYSTEM TEST HAPPENS MAY 7, 2014
For Release: Monday, May 5, 2014
Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7th, Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) will systematically test the NotifyNOW system. The purpose of the test is to give residents the opportunity to better understand the NotifyNOW system, to let people hear what a message will sound like and to encourage people to sign-up.
“The test will give the EMO a vital opportunity to evaluate the features and functions of the NotifyNOW system in a non-emergency situation,” says Director of Emergency Planning, Ray Unrau.
The test notification will start at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7th and will send notifications throughout the city one quadrant at a time. Everyone with contact information linked to an address within that quadrant will receive the test notification message. After a short pause, the process will be repeated until the notifications have been sent to the three remaining quadrants. We expect the testing period to last most of the morning.
“It is also important to give an opportunity for residents to familiarize themselves with what a notification will sound like,” Unrau says. “By taking part in the test, residents will have some familiarity with the process and be ready to respond appropriately in a real emergency situation.”
The test will use information currently entered into the NotifyNOW database. That includes publically available information from the 2013/14 SaskTel phone book as well as contact information provided by residents who have signed up.
“Once the test is complete we ask that residents take note of how they received the notification message and whether the message was delivered the most effective way,” Unrau says. “For example, if they got a voice message on their home land line but would prefer to receive a text message on their cell phone they would need to sign-up or sign-in to NotifyNOW and update their account.”
We also expect that some residents will notice that they did not receive the test notification. In those instances, we will ask them to create an account by following the prompts on saskatoon.ca and provide their preferred contact information so we can reach them in the future.
Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization is excited to move this project forward. The initial test is part of the process and will provide us with important technical information while demonstrating to individual residents what a targeted mass notification would sound like and how they can expect to be contacted.
For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.
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