Do not be surprised to hear an emergency test go off on your smart phone this afternoon. That same test will be heard on local radio stations.
Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure's Emergency Measures Organization says this is an Alert Ready test through the National Public Alerting System. It will go out on multiple communication channels, including CFRY, MIX 96.5FM, and COUNTRY 93.1FM. The test will come down at 1:55 pm.
The province says testing of all components is an important and necessary part of any public alerting system. It provides an opportunity to validate and improve the end-to-end performance and reliability of the system to ensure it operates as it is intended on radio, TV, and compatible wireless devices. Test alerts also educate the public on what an emergency alert will look, and sound like in the event of a life-threatening situation.
Not all Manitobans will receive today's test on their mobile devices. This may be for a variety of reasons including device compatibility, connection to an LTE network, cell tower coverage and device software and settings.
In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, PortageOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the PortageOnline app.