A second practice test Wednesday for Canada’s emergency warning system failed to bring assurance to Manitobans who survived a deadly storm.
In the event of a life threatening situation, the Alert Ready system is designed to send messages via television, radio, online and compatible wireless devices.
The effectiveness of the system came under scrutiny this summer after an EF 4 tornado with wind speeds between 270 and 280 km/h tore through the Alonsa, Man. area in August, killing 77-year-old Jack Furrie.
Some homes were swept away and vehicles got tossed into the lake.
Many living and camping in the region complained they didn’t get an emergency alert about the twister on their mobile phones.
Dozens of people found safety in Russell and Caroline Cabak’s basement next the campground.
“Heard this terrible roar, like a thousand freight trains going by,” Russell Cabak recalled Wednesday.
“Everybody was down here. I said a prayer. Okay, well, let’s see what happens,” Caroline said.
CTV News joined the Cabaks and local firefighter Shawn Gurke Wednesday as the province tested Canada’s Alert Ready system at 1:55 p.m., but no one present received the alert on a wireless device.
“I’m disappointed because I thought this time it would work,” said Cabak.
On the day the tornado hit, many campers’ smartphones fell silent. Their only warning came when they looked up into the sky and saw the twister headed towards the campground.
Bell MTS said Wednesday back then two cell towers in the area were being upgraded to LTE technology, one of the requirements to receive emergency alerts.
It says the work is now complete, but Alonsa is on the edge of the coverage area. The company didn’t expect many near Alonsa to get the test alert.
Gurke said better cell coverage is critical in their area to help people in extreme weather.
“In the interest of customer service and safety you would think the case has been made that these services need to be available in the more remote parts of the province,” he said
The province had announced prior to the test that some people would not get the test alert on their wireless device.
Bell MTS and the province say this can be for a number of reasons which include device compatibility, connection to an LTE network, cell tower coverage and software and settings on the device.
The province says over time more Manitobans will be able to get emergency alerts on their wireless device.
Right now the CRTC requires 50 per cent of new devices available for sale in Canada must be compatible with Alert Ready.
The requirement is going up to 100 per cent by April next year.
