WATCH: A new national emergency alert system is being tested in B.C. on Wednesday and a mobile alert testing planned for May.
Emergency officials are warning the public not to panic if they hear an emergency alert on Wednesday afternoon.
A new national alert system is tested province-wide by Emergency Management B.C. at 1:55 p.m. Wednesday
It’s part of a Canada-wide system called Alert Ready, which will allow government officials to issue public safety alerts through major television and radio broadcasters.
It will only be used for large-scale disasters or emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, wildfires, civil emergencies or terrorist threats.
A new wireless alert system that can notify people on their wireless devices will be finished in April. Testing for the wireless system is planned for May.