diff --git a/scripts/alert.js b/scripts/alert.js
index 31ed036..642eb92 100755
--- a/scripts/alert.js
+++ b/scripts/alert.js
@@ -42,8 +42,14 @@ async function main() {
   if (!subject) { console.error('alert.js: no subject given'); process.exit(1); }
 
   const env = readEnv(ENV_FILE);
-  const to = env.REPORT_EMAIL;
-  if (!to) { console.error(`alert.js: no REPORT_EMAIL in ${ENV_FILE}`); process.exit(1); }
+  // ALERT_EMAIL is for things that are broken; REPORT_EMAIL is for the Sunday digest. They
+  // are separate because an alert that only reaches a shared inbox is easy to scroll past,
+  // and because the digest should not become a channel people learn to ignore. Comma
+  // separated, and it falls back to REPORT_EMAIL so a machine whose .env predates this
+  // still alerts somewhere rather than silently not at all.
+  const to = (env.ALERT_EMAIL || env.REPORT_EMAIL || '')
+    .split(',').map(a => a.trim()).filter(Boolean).join(', ');
+  if (!to) { console.error(`alert.js: no ALERT_EMAIL or REPORT_EMAIL in ${ENV_FILE}`); process.exit(1); }
   if (!env.SMTP_HOST || !env.SMTP_USER || !env.SMTP_PASS) {
     console.error(`alert.js: SMTP is not configured in ${ENV_FILE}`); process.exit(1);
   }
diff --git a/server/.env.example b/server/.env.example
index 721ad05..104a74b 100644
--- a/server/.env.example
+++ b/server/.env.example
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@ ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme
 # blank to send only the per-team emails.
 REPORT_EMAIL=you@example.com
 
+# Where BREAKAGE is reported, comma separated. Kept separate from REPORT_EMAIL so a
+# failure alert does not have to compete with the weekly digest for attention, and so
+# it can reach a person rather than only a shared inbox. Falls back to REPORT_EMAIL.
+# Used by scripts/alert.js, which backup-to-drive.sh calls on every failure path.
+ALERT_EMAIL=you@example.com,team@example.com
+
 # Cron schedule for the digest. Default: every Sunday at 3:00 PM.
 # Format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
 REPORT_CRON=0 15 * * 0