The unfamiliar noise from Jaclyn Boruch's cell phone startled her. She reflexively grabbed it. What she saw next scared her.
In bold red letters were the words "CMAS Alert" followed by "Civil Emergency in this area until 1:24 PM EST Take Shelter Now U.S. Govern."
The emergency alert message took up her entire screen. It locked her Android phone for several minutes.
"I didn’t know if it was something happening in the ocean, some happening on land or coming out of the sky. I had no idea so that’s why it was so frightening," said Boruch, 22, marketing director at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County in Asbury Park.
The message, according to Verizon Wireless, was just a test. But the test caused panic and thousands of phone calls to various 911 dispatchers around Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties.
It also sparked the State Police to launch an investigation until Verizon Wireless confirmed the alert, which went out at 12:27 p.m. was a test, according to spokesman Sgt. Brian Polite.
About two hours after the mass alert went out, Verizon apologized to its customers.
"This test message was not clearly identified as a test," Verizon spokesman David Samberg said in an e-mailed statement. "We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this message may have caused."
Ernest Fiest, Monroe Township’s emergency management officer, said Verizon told him the "CMAS Alert" was inadvertently transmitted as part of an internal test of the company’s communication system.
CMAS refers to the Commercial Mobile Alert System, a public safety initiative that involves FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission and subscribed wireless phone carriers.
NJ.com
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