‘Emergency Alert’ test sent to cell phones at 4:45 a.m. was supposed to be on TV, officials say

ORLANDO, Fla. — An untold number of people in Florida received a rude awakening early Thursday morning.

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11:11 a.m. update:

The Florida Division of Emergency Management said the emergency alert that went out on cell phones on Thursday morning was only supposed to go out on TV, not on phones. FDEM shared the following on its Facebook page:

“We know a 4:45 AM wake up call isn’t ideal

“@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.”

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7:38 a.m. update:

Emergency management officials said an “Emergency Alert” test issued at 4:45 a.m. Thursday was sent out by mistake.

“The whole of the emergency management community apologizes for this error and steps will be taken to prevent it from occurring again,” officials said.

According to a release, there will be large-scale exercises simulating major, multi-patient medical emergencies on Thursday.

People in Florida may see increased ambulance traffic around the hospitals but no part of this exercise will impact patient care, officials said.

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Original report:

The message, titled “Emergency Alert,” read “TEST – This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required.”

Many took to social media after the alert was sent out to decry the startling message.

So far, it appears the test was only sent out in Florida.

Channel 9 is looking into how and why an alert test was sent out so early in the morning.

CLICK HERE for the original WFTV article.

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