Thousands of Kentucky Cellphone Users Receive Government “Emergency Alert”; told to "prepare for action"

A SCREEN SHOT OF THE ACCIDENTAL EMERGENCY ALERT SENT OUT BY THE FRANKFORT EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.

A mixture of human and computer error caused a "Civil Emergency" alert to be sent to thousands of cell phones in Southern Kentucky Tuesday, the Kentucky Emergency Management office said. 

There was never an emergency and the alert was sent out during testing at the Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort, spokesman Buddy Rogers said. 

According to Rogers, during the testing on Tuesday a computer error, followed by a human error caused the alert to be sent the to people in the Corbin and London areas of Southern Kentucky. 

The alert was only sent to cell phones via the Federal Communication Commission's Wireless Emergency Alert system, Rogers said. 

According to the FCC, the Wireless Emergency Alert system is a public safety system that allows customers who own certain wireless phone models and other enabled mobile devices to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area.

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