Emergency alert test coming this week to Ontario [Video]

Don’t panic if you get an emergency alert on your smartphone when a planned test run of Canada’s emergency alert notification system comes to Ontario this Wednesday.

The alerts will go out at different times in different provinces, stress testing the Alert Ready system in Ontario at 12:55 p.m. on Wednesday.

Canada’s National Public Alerting System will issue warnings about tornadoes, flooding, forest fires, extreme heat, nuclear incidents and other emergencies, including AMBER alerts on missing children.

Wednesday’s test message will simulate an emergency alert with an alert tone, known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal, and “will indicate that it is a test and does not require action from the public,” according to a press release.

The test alert will also be aired on TV, radio and wireless signals, but it’s possible that not all Canadians will receive a test alert on their mobile device due to system compatibility, …