The Cowichan Valley Regional District has launched its new CivicReady Mass Notification System in conjunction with Emergency Preparedness Week.
The new, state-of-the-art system will send messages about emergencies or routine events such as road closures to groups of subscribers throughout the Cowichan region via phone call, email, text and/or social media.
CivicReady allows registered subscribers to input an unlimited number of email addresses and phone numbers so subscribers can be reached anywhere at anytime.
All information collected from subscribers is securely maintained in Canada and adheres to Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation.
CivicReady is separate from the federal Alert Ready system, which offers provincial-level notifications in the event of a major disaster.
“This new technology allows us to have a truly regional emergency notification system that includes municipalities, First Nations and school districts,” said CVRD board chairman Jon Lefebure.
“It gives the public control over which notifications they wish to receive and how they want to receive them, and gives subscribers the flexibility to update those preferences as their needs change.”
Emergency program coordinator Sybille Sanderson said that over time, the CVRD intends to expand the program.
“Options for the types of information provided will increase, giving subscribers a wider variety of notifications to choose from,” she said.
To subscribe to the CivicReady Mass Notification System, visit www.cvrd.bc.ca2276Emergency-Alert-Registration.