The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has developed a web application to help residents and communities respond to emergency evacuation orders.
The Saskatchewan Evacuation App (Sask Evac App at app.saskecs.ca) helps residents who have left their homes stay connected with their community and provides their supervisors with important information.
In addition, the app helps managers and decision-makers ensure that the necessary resources are available in the event of an emergency.
The Sask Evac app collects basic contact information for communities or residents free of charge so that appropriate support can be provided before, during and after the evacuation.
The new web app is now live and has already been rolled out in communities such as Creighton, Buffalo Narrows and the resort town of Candle Lake. To best prepare for an event, Saskatchewan residents whose communities may be at risk are asked to pre-register themselves and their families: Registration takes less than five minutes.
Should an individual or family need to evacuate their home community, pre-registered residents can return to the Sask Evac app and confirm their information.
“When an individual or family has to leave their home, events unfold very quickly,” said Paul Merriman, Minister of Corrections, Police and Public Safety.
“The Sask Evac app is designed to increase safety in the event of an emergency and can also be used proactively. It ensures that no valuable time is lost in critical moments.”
At the request of a municipality, the SPSA can provide provincial resources to ensure the safety of its citizens when there is a real and immediate threat.
“Evacuations are extremely disruptive to communities and families,” said Marlo Pritchard, Saskatchewan’s fire marshal and president of the SPSA.
“Our goal is to support people in their home communities where possible. However, in the event of an evacuation, the Sask Evac app will help ensure people get the support they need in a timely manner.”
Information collected through the Sask Evac app is securely hosted by the SPSA and only shared with community leadership when necessary.
The information will not be passed on to third parties.
Established in 2017, the SPSA is a government-owned corporation administered by the Ministry of Finance and is responsible for wildfire suppression, emergency management, Sask911, SaskAlert, the Civic Addressing Registry, the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program and fire protection.
Communities interested in learning more about the Sask Evac app can contact [email protected].
