Millions of Floridians were startled awake early this morning when the Florida Association of Broadcasters sent out an unexpected Emergency Test Alert.
- The notification was sent at around 3:45 am CST, and many residents were not happy about being awoken at such an early hour.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management quickly issued an apology for the mishap, stating that the 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,” they wrote in a statement.
The Florida Association of Broadcasters conducts monthly tests of its emergency alert system on a variety of platforms, including TV, radio, and mobile devices. According to the schedule, there are still many more tests planned for the rest of the year, although they are not specific to phones.
- April 20 at 4:50 AM EDT (Today)
- May 22 at 1:50 PM EDT
- June 20 at 4:50 AM EDT
- July 20 at 1:50 PM EDT
- August 21 at 4:50 AM EDT
- September 20 at 1:50 PM EDT
- October 20 at 4:50 AM EDT
- November 21 at 1:50 PM EST
- December 20 at 4:50 AM EST
While these monthly tests are necessary to ensure that the emergency alert system is working properly, the early morning wake-up call has left many Floridians feeling frustrated and annoyed.
In a post shortly before 10am, Governor Ron DeSantis issued a statement on the matter:
- “I’ve ordered FL Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie to bring swift accountability for the test of the emergency alert system in the wee hours of the morning,” he wrote. “This was a completely inappropriate use of this system.”
Hopefully, the Florida Division of Emergency Management will be able to make the necessary changes to ensure that this doesn’t happen again in the future.