A test of Canada's Alert Ready emergency alerting system will be conducted Wednesday afternoon, broadcasting across all platforms.

"The emergency alert test message will be distributed through radio, cable and satellite TV broadcasters, web feeds and to compatible wireless devices," said Infrastructure minister Ron Schuler today in a release.

Ashley Keep, the public alerting program coordinator with Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization, says the point of the test is to raise awareness of the system and to ensure people know what an alert sounds and looks like.

"The alert will always begin with the tone, which is called the Canadian Alert Attention Signal, and then it will follow (with) the message. On your compatible device, it will start with the tone, and then you will get a vibration, followed by the message," says Keep.

Not all wireless devices will receive the alert.

"We require that there are three conditions: You have to have a smartphone that's connected to an LTE network, you have to have the latest software on your device, and you have to be connected to the LTE network at the time the alert is issued," says Keep.

Keep says, in Manitoba, there are two authorized alerting authorities: the EMO, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Manitoba RCMP media relations officer Tara Seel says RCMP see the emergency alert system as an invaluable tool.

"One of the ways that we have used it is for an Amber alert... this is a great system for us to reach a large number of people who could potentially save a life," says Seel.

Keep says mandatory alerts sent to TV, radio, and compatible wireless devices are of the highest risk to people, such as fires, flash floods, and tornadoes.

This is the second test of the Alert Ready system in Manitoba this year. A test also took place in May.

According to the province, the company Pelmorex operates the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination system (NAAD), which is the technical structure of the Alert Ready system.

The province is taking feedback at www.gov.mb.ca/emo/.