It’s Emergency Preparedness Week and the City of Yellowknife has just announced the launch of a new alert system for residents called Voyent Alert! The alert system will replace the current email emergency notification system and is available for folks in Yellowknife, Ndilǫ and Dettah.
Elizabeth Thompson, city manager of emergency preparedness, and Stacia Kean. manager of economic opportunities, presented the plan at the City Council yesterday. The new alert system is part of the emergency management program and recommendations.
The program and recommendations all fall under the community emergency plan, a “living document” that serves as an overarching framework for emergency planning in the city and it’s the base of the emergency planning program, explained Thompson.
Voyent Alert! Is an emergency notification system that provides real-time alerts and is designed to keep city residents informed, safe, and prepared during critical situations.
“Voyent Alert! provides real-time alerts about wildfires, severe weather, and other local emergencies that matter to you—whether they impact your home, your workplace, or your child’s school. This system empowers residents to make informed decisions when it matters most,” said the city in their announcement today.
The application allows users to choose how to receive alerts, which can be via the Voyent Alert! mobile app, text message, email or automated phone calls.
Thompson and Keen said that the alert system has the capacity for people to register as many locations as they like, with otifications will be sent only when those areas are affected.
The city invited residents to begin signing up by downloading the Voyent Alert! App from the App Store or Google Play or by register online at [register.voyent-alert.com]register.voyent-alert.com
The city is encouraging residents of Yellowknife, Ndilǫ, and Dettah to transition from the existing email emergency notification system to Voyent Alert! as soon as possible.
In the interim period of transition, their previous email emergency notification system will remain in effect until the end of 2025, they said.
The launch of the new notification system was announced at the city council meeting yesterday along with a new “personal preparedness campaign.”
“The goal of the campaign is to assist residents with becoming more prepared at an individual level, which in turn builds individual, and family level,”
“Resilient communities, and individuals typically recover faster, from emergencies, because they understand what risk, they could face they engage in planning for the unexpected and they mobilise their strengths when needed to help others a community that is resilient and prepared and also allows emergency response staff, to better focus their resources,” said Kean.
Within the new personal preparedness campaign, there are five resources starting with the “personal preparedness guide” which includes a checklist of steps that residents can take to become more prepared.
“It walks through the stages of finding emergency information, creating an emergency plan and building an emergency kit. Once residents are ready to create their plan, they can use the home emergency plan workbook,” explained Kean.
The workbook is designed for residents to fill out with their personal household information.
“By reading through the workbook, and filling in the blanks residents, will be well on their way to having their own personal slash family, emergency plan,” said Kean.
The personal preparedness campaign comes with three brochures of specialised information on specific needs.
“So we’ve got emergency preparedness for pets for seniors, elders, and persons with disabilities and for tourism operators. These three items provide additional planning tips, they have suggestions for emergency supplies that are specific to various specialised needs and there’s other considerations that you might need to think about prior to an emergency occurring,” added Kean.
All of these materials are publicly available on the city’s website and they will also have printed copies available at the city of Yellowknife booth at the trade show, May 10th and 11th.
