How to Get Earthquake Emergency Alerts & More on iPhone, Android

With increased earthquake activity on BC’s west coast lately, many residents have reported missing emergency alerts. If you’re looking for a reliable way to receive alerts for earthquakes, severe weather, and other emergencies, the Alertable app is a solid option. We wrote about Alertable way back in 2018 and it’s continued to get better over time.

How Alertable Works

The Alertable app provides real-time emergency notifications from official sources, including municipalities, regional governments, and emergency agencies. It covers events such as earthquakes, severe weather, wildfires, floods, and power outages.

Setting Up Alertable for Emergency Alerts

1. Download the App – Available on the App Store and Google Play.
2. Allow Notifications – Ensure alerts are enabled on your device.
3. Set Your Locations – Add key locations like home, work, and other places you frequently visit.
4. Customize Alerts – Choose notification types (push, SMS, email, or voice call) and select whether you want critical alerts only or all alerts.
5. Enable “Follow Me” – If you’re traveling, this ensures alerts follow your current location. This is super handy to enable.

Why Didn’t You Get an Alert?

If you missed an emergency alert, there could be several reasons. First, check if an alert was actually issued for your selected locations by using the “Archive” feature on the Alertable website. In some cases, local authorities may choose to broadcast alerts through radio, TV, or news media instead of Canada’s Alert Ready system, which Alertable connects to.

If you suspect an alert should have been sent, you may need to contact local emergency officials for clarification. Your phone settings could also be blocking alerts—ensure your device is not muted or in Do Not Disturb mode, enable the “Override Silent Mode” setting in the app for critical alerts, and verify that your WiFi or cellular connection is active. Lastly, if you were outside your chosen locations when the alert was issued, enabling the “Follow Me” setting in the app will ensure you receive alerts wherever you are.

Alertable works alongside Canada’s Alert Ready system, which sends alerts via TV, radio, and mobile networks. However, not all alerts—especially weather statements—are pushed through the app. The app does require a cellular or Wi-Fi connection to get alerts.

When there were a flurry of Earthquakes late last week in the Lower Mainland, we received texts from many friends and family asking if there was an earthquake or not. Alertable let us know they did indeed happen immediately, without needing to search places like X to confirm or not, as the info came directly from the USGS.

Not everyone got the alerts from the federal government’s Earthquake Early Warning system that was supposed to let people know about possible damaging waves. Now, the system’s failure to alert those in shaking areas is being “evaluated”.

“It’s not a perfect system, but certainly anyone who is inside that area of strong shaking, and who has a cellphone on, should have received the alert outside that area. Some people receive it. Some people won’t, but it won’t be so important, because they won’t really be in peril of damage or injury in that area around shaking,” said Alison Bird, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, who theorized the inconsistent alerts could be based on your cellphone plan.