A Voyent Alert test notification blared through some cell phones in Kamloops at 10:30 a.m., June 8, 2022.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops is running a one-year pilot project to test its emergency alert system, but less than one-fifth of the city is registered so far.

After a test run for the Voyent Alert app, 17,068 phones sounded alarms from Wednesday to Thursday morning. According to a city spokesperson, 600 more people registered because of the test.

Although it's far from broadcasting to the entire city, Kamloops is the only city in the Thompson-Okanagan to host its own emergency alert system of this kind.

The city first tagged onto the Thompson Nicola Regional District's Voyent account in August last year, issuing a few evacuation alerts due to wildfires in the area.

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Most notably, Barnhartvale residents were issued alerts when the White Rock Lake wildfire moved through the Monte Lake area in summer 2021.

This spring, the city implemented its own separate system with Voyent dedicated to Kamloops residents. It'll be used for evacuation alerts, evacuation orders and unplanned water disruptions like a water main break, according to city spokesperson Kristen Rodrigue.

As the Thompson Rivers continue to rise in Kamloops, residents could expect to be notified of any immediate danger through the app. It wouldn't, however, go to each of the 17,000 users registered. Instead, it would be focused to those that are immediately affected in neighbourhoods along the rivers.

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Voyent is being used by several communities across the province including the Okanagan-Similkameen and Thompson Nicola regional districts. No such system is in place in the Regional District of the Central Okanagan nor in the North Okanagan.

Users input their own address to their Voyent account, then choose the type of notification they want. Text messages are quickest and Voyent sends 2,000 per minute, but users can also choose voice calls or notifications through the app.

While Voyent is a voluntary system, the province uses Alert Ready, which will override a cell phone when the province sends warnings related to wildfires, tornadoes, floods, Amber Alerts, civil or police emergencies, and drinking water emergencies.

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