Every resident in the state of Florida who is a wireless subscriber was greeted with a jarring alarm at 4:45am this morning. The early-bird wake-up call was actually just an emergency alert test meant to air on television, not cell phones, but mistakes do happen — much to the chagrin of a state full of cranky, sleep-deprived residents. Only those who had their phone notifications silenced escaped the rude awakening. Now Florida officials (excluding Ron DeSantis) are apologizing.
From BBC News:
Florida officials have apologised for giving residents in the sunshine state an "unexpected" and "frustrating" pre-dawn wakeup. …
The Florida Division of Emergency Management later admitted that a "04:45 wake up call isn't ideal". …
On Twitter, it vowed that it was "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 message to residents read: "TEST – This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required."
Angry Floridians took to social media to complain about being woken up before dawn, with one writing on Twitter: "I need to fight whoever decided to test Florida's emergency alert system."
The unapologetic Florida governor, who schmoozed in Ohio earlier this month while parts of his state suffered historical floods, pointed his l'il pudding finger as he scolded the FDEM. "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 tweeted, adding, "This was a completely inappropriate use of this system." In true DeSantis style, he ended his tweet with an ominous, "Stay tuned."
