Why did some Northern Michigan residents receive alert about an earthquake?
Several residents in Ostego County, Michigan, received an alert about an earthquake on Monday, but local officials say it was due to an error.
According to Michigan State Police, temporary cellphone towers registered as being from California are physically located in Vanderbilt, Michigan. Residents received the alert after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded near San Diego.
It read, "Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold On. Protect Yourself."
MSP and Ostego County Emergency Management confirmed that the alert does not apply to Otsego County, and there is no emergency in the area. MSP said the county is "working on the issue."
"It is an odd alert to get in Michigan," MSP Lt. Ashley Miller told the Associated Press. "It was just poor timing. We just experienced this ice storm. I'm sure there were some people on edge."
CBS News Los Angeles reported that the earthquake was recorded 2.49 miles south of Julian, California, in San Diego County. A U.S. Geological Survey map showed that the earthquake was felt across Southern California and into Mexico.
The error comes two weeks after the Detroit Fire Department accidentally sent an alert about an explosion at an apartment complex to multiple communities.
Officials apologized for the error and said the alert was supposed to be sent through Detroit Alerts 365 to residents living in "the zip code surrounding the incident," but instead, it was sent through FEMA's Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS).
