Saskatchewan releases emergency alert app

A year after there werewildfires and mass evacuations across the north, the government of Saskatchewan has launchedan emergency alerting appSaskAlertand a website.

"Public safety is one of the highest priorities of our governmentand in just the last couple of years alone, you've seen some extreme examples of that," Government Relations MinisterJim Reiter said Monday."We're all familiar with the wildfire situation."

The app will push notifications to iPhone and Android phone users alerting them to emergencyevents in their area.

Blackberry will be adopting an Android operating system, but as it stands around 97 per cent of the smartphone-using public will be able to download the app.

Close to a third of towns, municipalitiesand First Nations havesigned up to use the app to issue emergency notifications.

If the past is any indication, anumber of extreme weather events couldhappen in the months ahead.

For example, just this weekend 100 millimetresof rain fell on Lampman, causing flooding.

There are three levels of alert: critical, advisory and test.

Mieka Cleary, deputy commissioner of emergency management and fire safety, gave the example of a boil water advisory, which couldexplain how to make sure water is safe.

Reiter explained that after the evacuations and wildfires last year the province started focusing on a new way to broadcast emergency information.

On Monday, the day theapp officially launched, there were no active alerts in the province

The app is now available for downloadat the AppleApp Store and Googleplay.