‘Human error’ cause of unexpected test of B.C. emergency alert system
Posted May 12, 2021 12:48 pm.
Last Updated May 12, 2021 12:50 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The province says “human error” is to blame for a test emergency alert that jolted many British Columbians to attention Wednesday afternoon.
The unscheduled alert went out around 12:15 p.m., and appears to have only been sent to people in B.C.
EmergencyInfoBC said it was an “accidental re-broadcast of last week’s test due to human error.”
On May 5, a planned test alert was sent out over the radio, TV, and to mobile phones. People were told in advance that alert was going to happen.
We did not receive any notice of another test alert being sent out.
The last test alert we were notified about in advance was May 5 at 1:55 p.m. https://t.co/AgBNjsndrr
— CityNews Vancouver (@CityNewsVAN) May 12, 2021
Surprise! https://t.co/iEhJNrmsQq pic.twitter.com/XoDmAVqC1v
— John Ackermann ???? (@jackermann) May 12, 2021
EmergencyInfoBC later tweeted that the alert was an “accidental re-broadcast of last week’s test due to human error.”
Today’s Alert Ready test was an accidental re-broadcast of last week’s test due to human error.
— Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) May 12, 2021
The test of the Alert Ready system happens throughout the year, with the intention of helping provinces and territories assess how ready the system is in the event of an actual emergency, such as an earthquake.
“This system is only used during large-scale disasters or emergencies where loss of life is possible or imminent,” according to Emergency Management BC.
The next test alert is scheduled for Nov. 17.
