City Launches Sudbury Alerts Emergency Notification Service

For Immediate Release                              
Tuesday, February 21, 2017

The City of Greater Sudbury in partnership with Glencore, Greater Sudbury Police Services, Greater Sudbury Utilities, the Sudbury and District Health Unit and Vale, have launched a mass notification service, Sudbury Alerts, on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. This notification system will alert residents of a potential hazard or concern that is considered an imminent threat to public safety. The system, built by Everbridge, allows residents to receive emergency alerts on their home phone, cell phone, TTY service, fax number or email address. 

“One of Council’s core values is acting today in the interests of tomorrow,” Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger said. “We are thrilled to offer this service to the community in an effort keep them informed with current, accurate information as soon as possible. The safety of our citizens is of the utmost importance in an emergency situation.”

Sudbury Alerts will act in conjunction with the City’s emergency management program for the protection and safety of residents.

“We are happy to offer another way to communicate with residents during an emergency,” Ed Archer, City of Greater Sudbury’s chief administrative officer said. “We already reach out to residents in many different ways and we will continue to do that during an emergency. We will continue to rely heavily on traditional and social media to relay municipal information during an emergency; Everbridge is one more tool we’ll have to ensure we reach as many people as we can when it really counts.”

“We are happy to partner with the City in this important initiative, Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen said. “Emergency situations require a lot of people working together to create a safe environment. Having the ability to reach the people we need and deliver the information they require in a timely manner is so important when every minute counts.”
A funding agreement with Vale covered the cost of the software.

“Vale is pleased to support this important mass notification system that will improve emergency preparedness in our community,” Stuart Harshaw, Vice-President of Vale’s Ontario Operations said. “We encourage everyone to sign up, get notified and be prepared.”

The City has collected 69,000 public home and business phone numbers but encourages everyone to register their devices via the Greater Sudbury website. A test of the system will take place on May 9, 2017 but is already live and ready to send out emergency notifications.

Residents who wish to receive emergency notifications can sign up for the service at www.greatersudbury.ca/sudburyalerts, or by visiting any of the 13 City of Greater Sudbury Customer Service Centres.

For more information about Sudbury Alerts, please visit the website or call 311.

-30-