SASKATOON – If you get a NotifyNOW message on Wednesday morning, don’t be alarmed – it’s likely to be a test.
The City of Saskatoon announced Monday it will systematically test the new emergency system starting at 9 a.m. that day.
Officials say the purpose of the test is to give residents an opportunity to understand the system, hear what it sounds like and encourage people to sign-up.
“This test will give the EMO a vital opportunity to evaluate the feature and functions of the NotifyNOW system in a non-emergency situation,” said Ray Unrau, the director of emergency planning for the city.
Notifications will be sent to one quadrant at a time and everyone with contact information linked to the quadrant will receive the test notification message.
Contact information comes from the 2013-14 SaskTel phone book along with those who have created an account with the city.
Once testing is complete, the city will be looking for feedback.
“We ask that residents take note of how they received the notification message and whether the message was delivered the most effective way,” said Unrau.
“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 contact information.”
Testing is expected to last most of the morning.
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