Why Earthquakes Canada is leaving X

We have an answer for you about why Earthquakes Canada is closing its account on X, formerly known as Twitter, next month.

In an emailed statement to CityNews, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) says the social media platform is no longer meeting its requirements.

“The functionality of many third-party social media platforms has changed and are no longer meeting the intended objectives of accounts. For example, some platforms no longer display posts in chronological order, which can create confusion to Canadians for time-based notification systems like earthquake alerts,” the agency explained.

It says as the digital landscape continues to change in this country, it will monitor how the federal agency interacts on social media in the future in a bid to ensure Canadians have timely information.

The Earthquakes Canada account on X has more than 100,000 followers.

NRCan says people can sign up for notifications on its website to stay up to date.

While Earthquakes Canada is halting its use of X, other agencies are still using the platform. The B.C. government is among those to say it will continue sharing updates about natural disasters on X.

“EmergencyInfoBC on X (Twitter) and EmergencyInfoBC.ca will continue to share information about all provincial emergencies, including earthquakes,” the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said in a statement.

It adds emergency alerts will also go out on cellphones next year.

“By spring 2024, in some cases the federal government will be able to issue Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) alerts to cell phones, radio and television to warn of a potentially harmful earthquake — giving people crucial seconds to take protective measures such as, ‘Drop, cover and hold on,’ before shaking begins. These EEW notifications will be published to the EmergencyInfoBC website and amplified on the EmergencyInfoBC X (Twitter) account.”

The province also has an alert system for cell phones, radio, and TV that it uses to warn people about wildfires, floods, extreme heat emergencies, and tsunamis.