(Cross-posted on the Google Canada blog: English, French)
With floods and spring showers in the forecast, Canadians can now receive warnings of drastic weather changes directly to their mobile device or desktop.
Today we’re launching official severe weather notifications for Canada in English and French on Google Public Alerts. Relevant severe weather alerts will now appear on the Google Public Alerts page, in Google Search and Google Maps on both desktop and mobile, and in Google Now.
Providing people with warnings and information before severe weather hits is critical to helping ensure safety. Google Public Alerts is a platform designed to provide accurate and relevant emergency alerts when and where you need them. An alert will appear on your desktop or mobile screens when you search for relevant keywords such as flood or with location-based queries like Toronto. On Android devices running Google Now, alerts will appear automatically on Cards.
We couldn’t have launched Public Alerts in Canada without Public Safety Canada and Environment Canada. Their meteorological data will ensure our users are notified of severe weather when relevant. We also appreciate their commitment to open data standards such as the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).
Here are example alerts in Canada surfaced on Search from a mobile device and Google Maps Mobile
