Politics
Florida apologizes for crack of dawn emergency alert test
Many Floridians complained about the timing of the loud test alert, which abruptly woke many up from their sleep in the morning
April 21, 2023 7:43am
Updated: April 21, 2023 9:15am
Florida authorities apologized on Thursday after millions of state residents received an emergency alert at around 4:45 a.m., waking them up.
Smartphones throughout Florida received a loud emergency alert at 4:45 a.m. reading “TEST - This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. NO action is required.” The sound for the alert is the same alarm that is used for Amber Alerts or hurricane warnings.
Many Floridians complained about the timing of the loud test alert, which abruptly woke many up from their sleep in the morning.
"We know a 4:45 AM wake-up call isn't ideal," the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FLDEM) posted on Twitter. "@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," FLDEM added.
According to the Florida Association of Broadcasters, which has the 2023 Emergency Alert System schedule on its website, a test is scheduled for 4:50 a.m. every other month.
Republican State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, cranky about having to wake up earlier than usual, said he would file legislation to stop the overnight emergency alert tests before 5 a.m. He said his bill would be called the “Stop Wake Act,” a joke on the “Stop Woke Act” filed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"I’m filing a bill next session to stop these ‘tests’ from occurring between 10p-8a. I’m 100% serious," Ingoglia tweeted. "I'm gonna call it the ‘Stop Wake Act’. I need a house sponsor."
In light of the incident, the DeSantis administration also said that the party responsible for the wake-up call would be “discharged.”
"This morning's 4:45AM SERT test alert was not appropriate and not done at our direction. The party responsible will be held accountable and appropriately discharged," DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin said.
