Stay informed during emergencies with Ottawa Alert
The City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service can now send emergency information directly to your personal devices with Ottawa Alert.
In an emergency, guidance and recovery information will be sent through Ottawa Alert to subscribed residents, businesses and visitors. Receiving timely emergency information on our phones, computers or other devices is the best way to stay informed and to be prepared, which leads to better safety outcomes for you.
Ottawa Alert is powered by Alertable (a product by Calgary-based company, PEASI) and sends notifications:
- Through the Alertable app, SMS, email, telephone, Amazon Alexa and more channels.
- In English and French, with in-app machine translation available for more than 30 languages.
- That are fully accessible under WCAG 2.0 AA compliance standards.
- Be prepared and register online at alertable.ca or download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play store.
Visit Ottawa Alert for more information, including how to sign up and what to do when you receive an emergency notification.
What to expect
Ottawa Alert is primarily for urgent situations. Subscribers have the option to sign-up for different types and levels of alerts from the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Police Service.
Emergency notifications from the City of Ottawa could include:
- Important updates and recovery information following an emergency, such as when emergency shelters or family reunification centres are opened.
- Urgent safety instructions, such as clearing snow from furnace and dryer vents after major snowstorms to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Advisory alerts to provide instructions following high impact situations, such as avoiding areas damaged by a tornado, ice storm or other event.
- Emergency notifications from the Ottawa Police Service could include:
- Critical alerts for situations posing an immediate danger to public safety.
- Information about keeping the public safe and away from potential harm, such as when there is an active police investigation or threat to public safety.
Ottawa Alert is not a replacement for systems that provide advance notice of emergency situations, such as notifications from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Alert Ready. In the Alertable app settings, subscribers can choose to receive alerts from ECCC and Alert Ready through Ottawa Alert. The City and Ottawa Police Service will not send notifications for weather or traffic updates.
To help ensure you receive emergency notifications when the time comes, we recommended checking your Alertable account regularly to ensure your settings are up-to-date.
Other ways the City will communicate
During an emergency, the City of Ottawa will continue to communicate through social media, ottawa.ca, and through public service announcements sent through the City News e-newsletter. Local news stations also provide important information during these critical times. You can learn about more about how to stay informed on our Information sources for emergencies page.
Alertable
Ottawa Alert is powered by Alertable, which is developed by the Canadian company PEASI. Alertable is an easy way for communities, businesses, and municipalities across Canada to let residents, visitors and employees know about what’s happening during and after emergencies. PEASI collects contact information for the sole purposes of delivering notifications to subscribers and providing customer support and service updates.
For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
