There’s nothing like a 4:45 AM emergency alert. Especially when it’s just a drill.
This morning, Floridians from all walks of life experienced the mutual annoyance of a false emergency alert on their phones.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management issued an apology on their Twitter, saying that, “This alert was supposed to be on TV, and not disturb anyone already sleeping.”
\u201cWe know a 4:45 AM wake up call isn't ideal \ud83d\ude05\n\n@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.\u201d— FL Division of Emergency Management (@FL Division of Emergency Management) 1681994452
Governor DeSantis chimed in calling it “a completely inappropriate use of this system”.
\u201cI\u2019ve 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. This was a completely inappropriate use of this system.\n\nStay tuned.\u201d— Ron DeSantis (@Ron DeSantis) 1682001857
Since then there are reports that Governor DeSantis has severed ties with the company that issued the alert.
Twitter can’t help but laugh.
\u201cI thought the Governor told us Florida is where WOKE goes to die \ud83e\udd23\nAnd yet all of Florida was sure WOKE from the Emergency Alert sent to us (as a test) at 4:45 this morning \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Annette Taddeo \ud83d\udfe7 (@Annette Taddeo \ud83d\udfe7) 1681999303
\u201cDeSantis\u2019 emergency management department sent test emergency alert to Floridian\u2019s phone at 4:45 a.m. to prove his mandate that \u201cFlorida is where \u2018woke\u2019 goes to die.\u201d\u201d— Daniel Uhlfelder (@Daniel Uhlfelder) 1681991122
\u201cBreaking: Florida is now WOKE due to an Emergency Broadcast System Alert. This is your first warning. There will be more.\u201d— James Inu (@James Inu) 1681997647
\u201cme: sleeping peacefully\nthe florida emergency alert test:\u201d— arlee \ud83c\udf42 (@arlee \ud83c\udf42) 1681981356
\u201c@ whoever decided to TEST the emergency alert in Florida when I finally get to sleep.. #emergencyalert\u201d— Erick\ud83e\uddb9\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@Erick\ud83e\uddb9\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2642\ufe0f) 1681980773
\u201cFlorida: ahh yes, let's test the new extreme emergency alert at 4:45 AM\u201d— Sal Strazzullo (@Sal Strazzullo) 1681980479
\u201cThe entire state of Florida was awakened by an emergency alert test at 4:45 AM this morning.\n\nI\u2019m so angry at Ron DeSantis that I\u2019d like to organize thousands of drivers to honk their horns outside the Governor\u2019s mansion each night at 4:45 AM\u2014 but he\u2019s never actually there.\u201d— Dr. David A. Lustig (@Dr. David A. Lustig) 1681996489
\u201cMyself and the entire state of Florida after waking up at 4:45 AM to a rogue #emergencyalert\u201d— Perry Bird (@Perry Bird) 1681981730
\u201cMap of Florida in 2022 vs Map of Florida after DeSantis sent out an emergency alert test at 4AM\u201d— Kate Hyde (@Kate Hyde) 1681997031
\u201cWe need a class action lawsuit for people in Florida who were rudely awoken by that emergency alert test this morning. I deserve at least $50k for that\u201d— RIP Snailbert\ud83d\udc0c\ud83d\udc94 (@RIP Snailbert\ud83d\udc0c\ud83d\udc94) 1682042903
We’ll have to see how fast the majority of Floridians fall right back to sleep 🙄
