Officials in Saskatchewan say a new emergency app properly picked up all tornado alerts from Environment Canada on the weekend.
There were four tornado warnings and three watches issued by the weather agency when storms whipped up winds in many places across the province.
READ MORE: SaskAlert app will keep people in Saskatchewan informed of emergencies
Mieka Cleary, deputy commissioner of emergency management, says all weather warnings that appear on the SaskAlert app are sent by Environment Canada, not the province.
Some Twitter users questioned why they didn’t get alerts about the thunderstorms that roared through or why the province wasn’t tweeting the alerts.
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Cleary says the level of any weather alert is up to Environment Canada, but people can also adjust the settings within their own app to control whether they receive only critical or all advisories.
READ MORE: What to do when a tornado touches down in Saskatchewan
As for tweeting, Clary says emergency management is still exploring that option.
“Right now we want to ensure that pieces of our communication strategy are working before we move onto other ones,” Cleary said Monday.
The SaskAlert app was launched last week. It will send a tone and notification directly to anyone who has it, even when the app is closed.
The website, SaskAlert.ca, has more specific details on things such as evacuation routes or evacuation centres, if necessary.
READ MORE: How you can stay safe and save lives this severe weather season
Emergency alerts may also be issued for train derailments, plow winds, spills of hazardous material, boil-water advisories, road closures or local emergency declarations.
Alerts are only issued for emergencies that could harm people or damage property.
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