Officials apologized after an “Emergency Alert” test was mistakenly sent to numerous people in Florida at 4:45 a.m. on Thursday morning, WFTV9 reported.
Many were reportedly jolted awake by a shrill noise from their cell phones, accompanied by a message which read, “TEST — This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required.”
“We know a 4:45 AM wake up call isn’t ideal,” the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) tweeted before 9 a.m. following the accidental blast. “@FLSERT wants to apologize for the early morning text. Each month, we test #emergencyalerts on a variety of platforms. This alert was supposed to be on TV, and not disturb anyone already sleeping.”
“We are taking the appropriate action to ensure this will never happen again and that only true emergencies are sent as alerts in the middle of the night,” the division continued.
FDEM also released a statement saying it is taking action to “remove the company responsible for submitting the alert this morning,” according to WFTS Tampa Bay. The statement reads:
The Division understands that unexpected 4:45 AM wake up calls are frustrating and would like to apologize for the early morning text.
Each month, we test emergency alerts on a variety of platforms, including radio, television, and text alerts. This particular alert was supposed to be on TV, and not disturb anyone already sleeping.
We are taking the appropriate action to remove the company responsible for submitting the alert this morning. We want to stress that while this wake up call was unwarranted, disasters can happen at any time and having a way to receive emergency alerts can save lives.
According to the report, many people on social media said they would be or had already deactivated their emergency alerts to avoid another early-morning false alarm. But the National Weather Service in Ruskin said it “STRONGLY” discourages people from turning off alerts in case of a real emergency.
“Deactivating alerts can prevent people from receiving critical, life-saving weather warnings from the National Weather Service,” NWS said. “These weather warnings can often occur when people are sleeping. A NOAA Weather Radio is also recommended as another source of these weather warnings.”
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