Florida apologizes for emergency alert test sent out early morning

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The emergency management agency of the southeastern U.S. state of Florida apologized for sending out an alert test early Thursday morning.

"We know a 4:45 AM wake up call isn't ideal," the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) said on Twitter, noting that it "wants to apologize for the early morning text."

The agency said it tests emergency alerts on a variety of platforms each month, which are "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," it added.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted later that he has ordered the FDEM director "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," DeSantis added.