Ottawa Alert public emergency notification system

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Alertable notifications

Join Ottawa Alert powered by Alertable to get alerts about emergencies, urgent situations, and recovery efforts on all your devices including: 

  • Cell phone 
  • Home phone 
  • Tablet 
  • Email 

If an urgent situation or emergency happens near you or if there is recovery information to share, you can get an alert on your device. The same information will also be posted on the City’s website and social media pages. Alerts through Alertable are fast, reliable, and easy to hear, see, and read. 

PEASI, based in Calgary, Alberta, makes Alertable. The software helps communities, businesses, and municipalities across Canada by letting residents, visitors and employees know about what’s happening during and after emergencies. 

Types of alerts

The City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service will use Alertable to send alerts about situations that might affect you. We will not send alerts about the weather or traffic issues. 

These notifications can include things like:  

  • Emergencies that affect a wide area or public safety  
  • Serious reminders such as clearing snow away from your furnace and dryer vents 
  • Essential information about emergency shelters or family reunification centres 
  • Urgent alerts about dangerous situations happening right now 
  • Vital information to help keep you safe during an active police investigation or a threat to public safety 

Other alerts available through the Alertable application 

Weather alerts 

Environment and Climate Change Canada sends alerts about weather issues. You can get alerts about the weather by adding them when you sign up or by changing your settings. 

Alert Ready 

Alert Ready sends urgent alerts about threats to life like forest fires or missing children. You can get alerts from Alert Ready by adding them when you sign up or by changing your settings. 

Sign up for Alertable

It's easy to sign up using your mobile phone, tablet, or computer. You can download the free Alertable app on your devices or sign up online to get notifications through email and even your home phone. 

Signing up 

  1. Visit the Alertable sign-up page through the link below 
  2. Select how you want to receive alerts 
  3. Enter your contact information 
  4. Enter the access code you get to verify your sign-up 
  5. Choose City of Ottawa or wards from the list of locations 
  6. Choose what types of notifications you want to get 
  7. Click finish and you’re all set to get notifications in your area! 

Sign up for Alertable notifications now 

The City of Ottawa uses Alertable to send alerts about local emergencies, safety issues, and service changes. Using Alertable is voluntary. It is run by a third party, Public Emergency Alerting Services Inc. (PEASI) and is not managed or maintained by the City.  

When residents sign up to receive alerts through Alertable, only one piece of contact information, like your phone number or the location you want alerts for, is required.   

The City does not collect, use, access, or store this information. PEASI is fully responsible for the collection, use, and protection of any personal information submitted by users. For more information, we encourage residents to review Alertable’s Privacy Policy.   

The City of Ottawa is not able to provide technical or account-related support for Alertable. For help with the service, please contact PEASI directly. 

Apps and notification options 

There are lots of notification options to choose from and you can sign up or install the ones that are right for you. 

Smart phones 

  • Apple iOS smartphone 
  • Android smartphone 

Email, SMS and phone calls 

  • Email notifications 
  • SMS text messages 
  • Phone call notifications 

I’m signed up, what happens next?

When you receive an alert 

Stop. Look or listen to your device. 

Breathe. Don’t panic. It’s important to stay calm so you can understand the instructions. 

Read. Read all the alert to see how it affects you. Check for links to more specific maps and information to see what the emergency is and what you should do or where you should avoid going so you can stay safe. You may need to click the down-arrow to see all the text included with the notification. 

Change your settings 

We can’t update your Alertable settings. You’ll need to make the changes through the Alertable app or through the Alertable webpage. 

You can change the settings using the app on your device or by visiting the Alertable sign-up page. Go into Settings to customize the location and types of notifications you want to get. 

Difference between Alertable and Alert Ready

Ottawa Alert, powered by Alertable, is the City of Ottawa’s notification system that will tell you about emergencies and recovery efforts that hit close to home. You need to sign up for Alertable to get the alerts. 

Alert Ready is the federal/provincial Wireless Public Alerting (WPA) system that sends urgent alerts to Canadians through television, radio and wireless devices. You get the alerts automatically and you can’t opt out of the system. Visit the CRTC’s website to learn more about emergency alerts and the national public alerting system.