That East Coast tsunami warning test you received was a mistake, government says
An unusual alert pinged phones and inboxes along the East Coast Tuesday afternoon — a test tsunami warning. The text and email alert issued by the National Tsunami Warning Center went out at 12:29 p.m. It read:
“Tsunami Warning TEST. Tsunami Warning issued August 15 at 12:29PM EDT until August 15 at 1:29PM EDT by NWS National Tsunami Warning Center.”
Meanwhile, an email issued by Dare County Emergency Management on the Outer Banks stated:
“…THIS IS A TEST TO DETERMINE TRANSMISSION TIMES INVOLVED IN THE
DISSEMINATION OF TSUNAMI INFORMATION…”
The alert caused a stir, leading the National Weather Service to post on channels across the East Coast that the alert was sent in error.
“There is NO TSUNAMI threat for the US Atlantic/East or Gulf Coast. We are aware of an erroneous tsunami alert on some apps. Please disregard, we have not issued a tsunami alert. NWS is reviewing the incident,” the NWS Newport/Morehead City field office tweeted.
Dare County Emergency Management tweeted “it was the National Tsunami Warning Center not us,” and said the local weather service office assured them the alert was sent in error and an investigation is underway.
