The system will only be used to notify Electoral Area residents in the event of a situation that may impact their safety and well-being, such as earthquakes, tsunami warnings, or hazardous spills. The system may also be used to convey important instructions, such as evacuation routes, shelter-in-place instructions, or for CRD Operated water systems things such as boil water advisories.

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 in addition to SMS text message.

There are two options for being notified by cell phone: voice call and/or text message.

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 finalize your text message subscription.

To finalize your text message subscription, send a text to 32075 with START as the only word in your text message. You will receive two confirmation messages - one from your cell phone service provider and the other from the public alert notification system provider (ERMS).

To cancel your text message subscription, send a new text message using the word STOP to 32075. You will continue to receive notifications from other options you signed up for.

Please note: for text messages, message and data rates may apply and ERMS, 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 one of these electoral areas in order 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 (i.e. lot number) and enter a valid latitude and longitude. These can be obtained easily using Google Maps: find your property, click the location and Google Maps will display latitude and longitude at the bottom of the screen.

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 made on each device you selected until you confirm receipt of the message. You will be asked to confirm receipt of message. Instructions to confirm will be delivered in the message itself. If you do not confirm, then the system will continue to attempt to reach you on other devices you have selected.

For additional updates, tune in to local media (radio or television) or monitor reliable social media feeds and @PrepareCRD.

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

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