Florida became the wokest state in the nation on Thursday when a blaring alarm testing the emergency alert system was mistakenly sent to residents’ cell phones at 4:45 a.m.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has apologized for the early morning siren and said the alert was meant to come across on televisions, not cell phones.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“The division understands that unexpected 4:45 AM wake-up calls are frustrating and would like to apologize for the early morning text,” a spokeswoman for the agency said. “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.”
As one could imagine, the Sunshine State was none too pleased, with many sharing their bleary-eyed dismay on social media.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
“Everyone should be on time this morning for work, considering a universal alarm clock went off at 4:45am,” tweeted state Sen. Shevrin Jones, along with a screenshot of the alert on his phone that read “TEST - This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, wrote on Twitter that he was directing the head of the agency to bring “swift accountability” for the test alarm.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“This was a completely inappropriate use of this system,” wrote DeSantis, who often refers to the state as where woke goes to die. “Stay tuned.”
The emergency alert system is intended to notify people of incoming disasters such as hurricanes.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) said he was glad FDEM “clarified the error.”
RELATED: Florida Emergency Alert: What you need to know about the system that woke you up this morning
Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) quote-tweeted DeSantis’ tweet and told DeSantis what was actually inappropriate was his “attack on the LGBTQ community, the Black Community, teachers, the public education system and more.”
Florida State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Hernando County) said he was going to file a bill next session called the “Stop Wake Act” to prevent such tests from happening between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.