In the case of safety incidents, such as a tsunami, wildfire, or evacuation notice, the system can effectively notify residents who may be impacted.

Please note: As required by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) any alerts sent via Alert Ready (the Wireless Public Alerting System provided by the Provincial and Federal Government) will take precedence over any notifications you receive via the Public Alert Notification System. Read more >>

The system will be used to notify Electoral Area residents in the case of a safety incident such as a wildfire, tsunami, or evacuation notice.

Please note: As required by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) any alerts sent via Alert Ready (the Wireless Public Alerting System provided by the Provincial and Federal Government) will take precedence over any notifications you receive via the Public Alert Notification System. Read more >>

Currently this service is only available to the three CRD Electoral Areas:

• Salt Spring Island Electoral Area
• Juan de Fuca Electoral Area (East Sooke, Otter Point, Shirley, Jordan River, Port Renfrew, Malahat and Willis Point)
• Southern Gulf Islands (Pender Island, Galiano Island, Mayne Island, Saturna Island, Piers Island and the smaller Electoral Area islands)

Please ensure cookies are enabled in order to use the registration form.

Residents must choose to opt-in to the system by registering. Please use the links at the top of this page to register for your Electoral Area.

Selecting devices to receive notifications

Residents may choose to register for any one or more of the following options:

• Home phone
• Cell phone
• Work phone
• Email
• SMS Text Message*

*Please note: telecommunications companies do not guarantee timely delivery of text messages. Residents are advised to register for a primary notification option, such as a telephone number, in addition to SMS Text Message.

There are two options for being notified by cell phone: voice call and SMS Text Message.

Registration details

To sign up for voice calls, enter your cell phone number in the field labelled 'Cell Phone 1 (Voice notification).'

To sign up for text messages, enter your cell phone number in the field labelled 'Text Message/SMS (same number as Cell Phone 1 entry)'. After you submit the form, you will need to confirm your text message subscription.

To confirm your text message subscription, send a text message to 77222 with ERMS START as the only two words in your text message.

Text message cancellation

To cancel your text message subscription, send a new text message with the words ERMS STOP to 77222. You will continue to receive notifications from other registered devices.

Please note: for text messages, message and data rates may apply and the service provider cannot guarantee message delivery. Please select a secondary notification method (voice or email) in addition to text message to ensure prompt and reliable message delivery.

Entering an address or location

Please ensure you provide a valid civic (physical address) located within your electoral area to receive notifications. Please do not use your mailing address if it is different from your civic address.

If you do not have a civic address, please provide a description of the property (such as a lot number).

Please return to this site to update your account if your address or contact information changes or if you would like to opt-out of the service

From your account, you can also modify the order in which the devices will be activated

• Login

When a notification is issued, multiple attempts will be made for each telephone number registered until you confirm that you have received the message.

Email and SMS Text Message alerts will be sent only once, along with instructions on how to reply to confirm that you have received the message. If you do not confirm, then the system will attempt to reach you through the other devices you have registered with the system.

Additional updates will also be made available through the CRD website and your local Emergency Program website as well as through local radio, TV, and trusted social media sources of information, particularly from government and other authorities.

You will only receive notifications if you sign up for this service, however, information will still be available from your local emergency program and local media coverage.

The Electoral Areas have active Emergency Programs and will continue to be a vital part of any response to an emergency in your area.

• Learn more about your Electoral Area Emergency Program

No. The information provided is confidential and will not be used for any other purpose. Your information will not be given or sold to any other vendor or organization.

The system is powered by ERMS, a Canadian Company providing Public Alert Notification System services to businesses, communities, and government agencies across Canada. All data is stored in highly secured Data Centres located in Canada.

• Learn more about ERMS

For assistance, please contact your CRD Emergency Program Coordinator:

Salt Spring Island: 250.537.1220
Southern Gulf Islands: 250.629.6982
Juan de Fuca: 250.642.8105
CRD Protective Services: 250.360.3649