Why did Floridians wake up to an early-morning emergency alert?

Florida Residents Woken Up By Early Morning Emergency Alert Test

So early this morning, everyone was jolted awake by a super loud alert on their phones. It was around 4:45 am when all the phones in the state rang, sounding like an emergency siren or severe weather warning.

We all checked our phones and the message read, “TEST – This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required.” But many were still confused and wondering why the alert went off so early.

The Florida Association of Broadcasters confirms that these test alerts are scheduled to occur every other month, usually around 4:50 am.

We know a 4:45 AM wake up call isn't ideal 😅@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.

— FL Division of Emergency Management (@FLSERT) April 20, 2023

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.

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) April 20, 2023

Welp… Sorry to say this but I may just be turning off alerts for now….

Want to turn off these alerts? Here’s how:

iPhone users:

Open the Settings app, then tap Notifications. Scroll down and find “Government Alerts.” From there, just switch off the sliders. This means you won’t receive any Test, Amber, Public Safety, and Emergency Alerts.

Android users:

Go to Settings, tap Notifications, and then look for “Wireless emergency alerts”. Here, just select the alerts you want to receive.

Florida Association of Broadcasters.

The test serves as an important reminder that emergency alerts are capable of reaching millions of people in an instant and can be used in times of urgent need. The alert system has been utilized in recent years for weather warnings, Amber Alerts and even health advisories such as COVID-19 updates.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the Wireless Emergency Alerts system that sends out these notifications, which includes Presidential messages, AMBER alerts, severe weather warnings and other critical information from local authorities about natural disasters or public safety threats in your area.

Everyone with a compatible cell phone should receive these messages automatically, so long as their device is switched on and connected to their cellular network or Wi-Fi connection. The alert also appears on smart speakers and digital TVs that are connected to the internet or have antennas connected to them.