Western officials are sounding an alert about, well, sounding alerts as the university joins institutions across the country in marking Emergency Preparedness Week, May 5-11, an annual event used to encourage Canadians to be better prepared for emergencies.
Western will test Alert WesternU, the university emergency mass notification system, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8. No action is needed; it is only a test.
All Western students (including those at the affiliated colleges), faculty and staff are automatically enrolled in the system via their @uwo.ca email address. However, Western Campus Community Police encourage everyone to take a few moments to add a mobile number to their Alert WesternU account to receive a text message, in addition to an email.
Western will not be alone in its tests next week. Other emergency alerting systems being tested next week include:
- City of London. Will conduct tests beginning at 10:55 a.m. on Thursday, May 9; and
- Ontario. Has now cancelled its plan to conduct tests of its AlertReady system on TV, radio and compatible wireless devices at 2:55 p.m. Wednesday May 8; both Ontario and Quebec decided they did not want to cause further alarm to residents in many areas already dealing with flooding and historic high-water levels.
