B.C. prepared to use Alert Ready notification system as storms continue, minister says
B.C. officials urged residents to avoid all non-essential travel as the province deals with the second in a string of three storms and prepares for the final one.
"We're in the middle of one of the most intense series of storms that we have seen along coastal B.C.," said Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth at a news conference Sunday morning, as highways between the Lower Mainland and the Interior remained closed and residents of an Abbotsford neighbourhood evacuated in anticipation of more flooding.
"This is historic weather, intensified by climate change," the minister said.
Farnworth asked British Columbians to "hope for the best and prepare for the worst," and said the province is prepared to use the Alert Ready emergency notification system as necessary in communities as weather-related challenges arise.
As of earlier this month, B.C. was the only province in Canada that hadn't used Alert Ready at least once since it became available to provinces in 2019.
Tracking on Alert Ready's website now indicates that B.C. has used the system twice for civil emergencies in 2021.
The system allows emergency officials to send notifications to all cellphones in range of specific cell towers in a given region, but B.C. has primarily used it in province-wide tests over the last three years.
Provincial officials came under significant criticism for failing to activate the system during the devastating storm that closed highways and flooded Abbotsford's Sumas Prairie earlier this month.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said at the time that it was his decision not to send an alert, saying he didn't want to alarm the entire city.
Alerts can be more targeted than that, however, and Farnworth said Sunday that the province is prepared to support local officials in using the system in the coming days.
"Should a community or communities feel that there is an imminent threat to life or public safety, the province stands ready to issue what we call a broadcast-intrusive alert," Farnworth said. "Local governments are the experts on the ground, and emergency managers at the local and provincial levels will continue to closely co-ordinate through the days ahead."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.