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Richmond to conduct test of emergency alert system as part of ShakeOutBC

ShakeOutBC is an annual province-wide “drop, cover and hold” earthquake drill that takes place at 10:21 a.m.
holding cell phone
Richmond will be conducting a test of its RichmondBC alert system, which notifies users of immient emergencies or disasters.

Don’t be alarmed if you get an emergency alert on your cellphone this morning, as the City of Richmond is conducting a test.

People subscribed to the RichmondBC Alert system “can anticipate a test sometime later this morning,” according to Clay Adams, city spokesperson.

According to the city, the test is being conducted as part of ShakeOutBC today (Oct. 21), an annual province-wide “drop, cover and hold” earthquake drill that takes place at 10:21 a.m.

More than 3,000 earthquakes happen in B.C. each year, according to ShakeOutBC, which has a document with information on what to do during the drill.

The city and several Richmond School District schools are among the more than 730,000 British Columbians taking part in the exercise.

The RichmondBC Alert system, which notifies residents of imminent emergencies or disasters, was launched earlier this year to replace the previous emergency notification system.

According to the city, around 3,000 people have signed up to the system, which allows subscribers to register up to three email addresses, four phone numbers, two SMS numbers and one text telephone (TTY) number.

Anyone who lives and works in the city is encouraged to subscribe to RichmondBC Alert at richmond.ca/alert.