A glitch in a routine test of the Richmond BC Alerty system on Tuesday led to over 1,700 new registrations to the system, according to the city.
There were issues sending the test alert via text message to some residents, which saw some texts delivered out of order or incomplete, as some cellular network carriers experienced compatibility issues with the current alert system software.
That software has reached its end-of-life, said Adams, which is why it will be replaced with a more effective system in May.
“We can assure residents that, should this have been a real emergency, the level of awareness generated today along with other actions would have ensured broad community notification despite the minor glitch.”
However, the glitch helped create awareness of the alert system, leading to the new registrations, Adams said. The system informs the community of emergencies such as natural disasters, fires, hazardous material spills.
In total, over 6,700 residents received an email, voice message, fax or text as part of the test – depending on their subscription preferences, said Adams. Over 50 per cent of calls were “live answered” by the recipient, while nearly 20 per cent were received as voice mail.
Residents can register for the Richmond BC Alert System online at the city’s website. Once the system changes in May, residents will need to re-subscribe to continue receiving emergency notifications.
Businesses and residents can register up to six phone numbers, two email addresses, one SMS test and one fax number for each local address.
