TikTokers Lost It After A 'Glitch' Caused Alberta Emergency Alert To Go Off A Ton (VIDEO)
A series of emergency alerts were sent out across phones, televisions and radios in Alberta multiple times yesterday after a test went wrong — and people on TikTok are sharing where they were when it happened. Many jumped to the worst-case scenario, and others had some fun with the error.
Earlier this week. the Alberta government announced that the Alberta emergency alert system would be tested at 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1 to coincide with the official start of wildfire season.
However, what actually happened at 1:55 p.m. was a series of jump scares as the emergency alert went off multiple times, with people saying they'd received as many as eight.
As with any technical issue, TikTokers took the opportunity to poke fun at the situation, speculating on what caused the emergency alerts to blow up people's phones.
@josiebalka An alarming afternoon 😂😂😂 #yyc #yeg #calgary #edmonton #alberta #yyccalgary #emergencyalert #berta
One theory that took off on TikTok was from Josie Balka, who thought we should collectively check on the guy in charge of the emergency alerts as he may have had his own technical issue.
"I’m traumatized after those," one TikToker joked in the comments.
"Nothing makes us feel safe like an alert screaming 'this is just a drill!' eight times," one person said.
"My phone and my TV were going off for like 30 minutes. Didn't know my TV could do that," someone else added.
People were also talking about where they were when the mass alerts were sent out and there were some real horror stories.
"My entire classroom was just 'WEEH WAAH, WEEH WAAH' every minute. It was hilarious and terrifying," someone said.
"I was at the airport when the Emergency Call Button guy had a meltdown. Nothing like 1,000 phones going off at the same time 30 times in a row," one person commented.
Twitter users also had a field day with the huge number of alerts.
\u201cGirl, are you the #Alberta #EmergencyAlert?!\n\nBecause you\u2019re blowing up my phone & making my heart race. \n\n#abemergencyalert #albertaemergencyalert\u201d— Lauren Hunter (@Lauren Hunter) 1677706303
The hilarious commentary has people losing it.
\u201cI'm convinced someone is having sex on the Emergency Alert button. #ThisIsOnlyATest\u201d— Chris (let's smile when we meet) (@Chris (let's smile when we meet)) 1677704476
\u201cAlberta testing the Emergency Alert System today\u201d— CodenameJulie \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddfa (@CodenameJulie \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddfa) 1677704531
However, it seems like what really happened was a "glitch" in the testing process, according to Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister for public services and emergency services.
"Incidents like the one that occurred are exactly why we conduct testing on the Alert System. We need to ensure that the system is working as intended during an actual emergency to protect Albertans," he said in a statement.
Ellis added that all partners involved in the system are working to identify the issue that caused the repeat alerts.
