The City of Kamloops will be issuing a city-wide test alert tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3, through its emergency notification system, Voyent Alert.

Acting Communications Manager Kristen Rodrigue says depending how people registered, the test alert will go out by text, phone call, email, or as a notification through the app.

“It will be a critical alert. It will make the really loud noise and we’re actually going to leave the alert active in the system until Monday because we will be at Emergency Services Day this Saturday at Sandman Centre,” she said. “So anybody who registers within that period and drops their pin in Kamloops will be served that critical alert, so they’ll be able to immediately hear what that alert sounds like.”

Emergency Services Day will run between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Sandman Centre parking lot, and Will Beatty, the City’s Emergency Preparedness Manager, says people will be able to learn about Voyent Alert there, and answer questions or help people get registered.

“As some devices automatically offload unused apps, registered app users are encouraged to verify that the app is active on their devices,” Beatty said. “Residents are also encouraged to open their Voyent Alert app or log into their account to ensure their locations are positioned accurately.”

“In the event of an evacuation alert or order being put in place due to flood or wildfire, this system will be a vital way of alerting and updating the public. If used, the notification will include important information about the event and instructions for if any action is required.”

The City of Kamloops began a one-year trial of the Voyent Alert emergency notification system last year, before signing on full time last fall.

“So at the time of launching our account, we had almost 17,000 user accounts imported over from the TNRD and despite not having any major emergency events, which quite frankly are a driver of registrations for a tool like this, that subscriber base increased,” Rodrigue told City Council Tuesday.

“I’m happy to report that as of last Friday, we have actually passed the 20,000 subscriber mark. So it is continuing to grow”

For more on Voyent Alert, go here. You can download the from GooglePlay or the App Store.