On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at 9:55am, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will conduct a live test of NWT Alert, the Northwest Territories public alert notification system. Residents may see and hear the public alert test on wireless devices, radio stations, and cable television networks across the NWT.

NWT Alert notifies residents during emergencies and disasters and is part of the national public alert notification system “Alert Ready”. It is important to note that not all residents will receive the test alert notification on their wireless device. This may occur for a variety of reasons, including device compatibility, connection to an LTE network, cell tower coverage, or device software and settings. The public are encouraged to check their device compatibility on their wireless service provider’s website to ensure that their device has the latest software update installed.

Alert Ready is designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alert notifications to Canadians via television, radio, and wireless devices.  The Alert Ready system was developed in partnership with federal, provincial, and territorial emergency management officials, Environment Canada, and the broadcast industry to ensure residents receive alert notifications immediately and know when to take action to  stay safe.

National Emergency Preparedness Week is from May 1-7, 2022

Wildfires, floods, winter power outages, and critical infrastructure failures are some of the  hazards that residents face in the north. Planning for emergencies includes staying up to date with local news, being aware of the hazards and associated risk, staying connected with  friends and family in your community, having emergency supplies accessible, and having a plan if something goes wrong.

Emergency Preparedness:  Be Ready for Anything

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has more information available about what you can do to be prepared for an emergency as well as several resources on emergency preparedness, visit www.maca.gov.nt.ca.

For information during an emergency, check with your community government and the GNWT Public Safety Notices webpage at www.gov.nt.ca/en/public-safety-notices or www.NWTalert.ca. 

Media Requests, please contact:

Jay Boast

Communications Planning Specialist

Department of Municipal and Community Affairs 

Government of the Northwest Territories

(867) 767-9162 ext. 21044