Foothills residents will soon be able to sign up for a new emergency warning system after the Town of High River switched on a similar system last week.
High River’s new notification system will alert residents about severe weather warnings and critical emergency alerts, as well as public safety notices, such as fires or utility problems.
MD of Foothills Reeve Larry Spilak said the MD is in the process of setting up its own emergency notification system.
“High River is doing its own, we are doing the identical system in the MD,” he said.
Spilak said they are still working on getting the system up and running and it should be on-line.
“We expect to activate it in the next two weeks,” he said.
In High River, residents can chose a number of different ways they want to be contacted, including phone, text and e-mail. There are also apps available for iPhones and Android mobile phones.
Emergency alerts will also be sent through the Alberta Emergency Alert system, local radio and the Town’s website, Facebook and Twitter pages. The Town will also use sirens located through the community to alert residents to a coming emergency.
High River mayor Craig Snodgrass said the Town wants to have a number of different ways to be able to get warnings out to residents.
“We’re really encouraging people, they really need to sign up,” he said.
The system isn’t just open to High River residents. Snodgrass said there are a lot of people in Calgary and other areas who have family in town and might want to receive emergency notices.
“A lot of people have parents who live in High River, whether they’re elderly or otherwise,” he said. “If it’s just people who want to know what’s going on for their parents then they can sign up as well.”
While both the Town and MD will have separate systems, Snodgrass said they are coordinating their efforts.
“It’s anybody that’s affected by the Highwood River, whether it’s up stream or downstream,” he said.
