CITY-WIDE NOTIFYNOW TEST: TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015 AT 6:00 P.M.

The City of Saskatoon Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) will be conducting another semi-annual, city-wide test of the notifynow mass notification system on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, starting at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the test is to give residents the opportunity to better understand the notifynow system, to let people hear what a notifynow message will sound like, and to encourage people to sign-up.

“It is important to familiarize residents with what a notification will sound like,” says Director of Emergency Planning, Ray Unrau. “With each test of the notifynow system, we increase our residents’ familiarity with the notifynow process so they will be ready to respond appropriately in a real emergency situation.”

The notifynow system allows the City of Saskatoon to inform residents by sending a written or voice recorded safety message to their cellphone, home or business phone, or email - so they know what to do, where to go, and what to expect during an emergency. With the push of a button, notifynow can reach tens of thousands of Saskatoon residents with timely information on how they can ensure their personal safety and/or minimize damage to their property.

Residents who have already signed up to receive notifynow messages, or who have their phone number listed in the 2014/15 SaskTel Phonebook should expect to be contacted during the notifynow test on Tuesday.

Similar to other tests, persons receiving the notifynow test on a phone will hear a recorded message explaining this is only a test.  Please note: because of the volume of calls going out during the test on Tuesday, and depending on your phone settings, there may be a voice message left. However, in a critical life or property safety emergency, a notifynow voice message with pertinent instructions will be left.

“Later in the evening, after the test is complete, we ask that residents take note of how they received their notification message and whether the message was delivered to them in the most effective way,” Unrau says. “For example, if they received a voice message on their home phone, but would prefer to receive a text message on their cellphone they would need to sign-in to notifynow on our website and update their account. This way, residents decide their preferred method of contact, and they can even sign-up family members.”

Residents with an unlisted SaskTel phone number,  those who have just moved to Saskatoon and are not yet listed in the phone book, or those without a landline, will have to sign-up to receive future notifynow messages by selecting their preferred method of contact.

To sign-up for notifynow or to sign-in and customize the method of how you would like to receive your notifynow message, visit saskatoon.ca/notifynow or look under the Announcements section on our homepage.