Tsunami Advisory Reaffirms Importance of Saanich Peninsula Alert System
As a consequence of the volcanic eruption in Tonga on January 15 and the resulting potential threat of a tsunami striking Saanich Peninsula shores, the District of North Saanich, District of Central Saanich, and Town of Sidney remind residents that the Saanich Peninsula Alert system can play a significant role in alerting them to imminent emergencies.
The Saanich Peninsula Alert system delivers critical and potentially life-saving alerts to anyone who has registered. Alerts are issued to recipients for events like earthquakes, tsunami alerts, other safety threats, and evacuation notices.
There is no sign-up fee for Saanich Peninsula Alert.
Residents can find more information or sign up for Saanich Peninsula Alert at https://saanichpeninsulaalert.connectrocket.com/. Additionally, the District of North Saanich, District of Central Saanich, and Township of Sidney all feature links to the Saanich Peninsula Alert from their respective websites.
Registration is easily customizable, allowing people to select multiple notification areas.
This enables the user to keep up-to-date on areas outside of their own neighbourhood or municipality. For example, someone residing in North Saanich may work in Central Saanich and have family members living in Sidney. Notifications can be set up for all three areas, with several (or all) zones selected.
When an alert is issued, information is delivered to the recipient’s landline, cell phone, or email address, depending on which preference they select.
The online registration process is simple and straightforward. Staff at all three local governments are also available to help interested residents, especially those without online access at home, register for Saanich Peninsula Alert.
If residents have previously registered for Saanich Peninsula Alert and did not receive a notification of the Tsunami Advisory on January 15, they may need to sign up again, as the municipalities changed service providers in March 2021. Residents who have registered with the new service provider (Connect Rocket) and did not get an alert should contact their local government so they can help address the issue:
- District of North Saanich: 250-656-0781; admin@northsaanich.ca
- District of Central Saanich Fire Department; 250-544-4238; www.centralsaanich.ca/fire
- Sidney Fire Department: 250-656-2121; firedept@sidney.ca
