Tennessee reacts to surprise alerts from TEMA

JACKSON, Tenn.–Some were happy, while others were not so much.

Thursday, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency issued an apology after sending out two alerts earlier in the day causing confusion across the state.

“We have received a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls a lot of Facebook postings and tweets about the test, both positive and criticism,” TEMA spokesman Dean Flener said.

September is National Preparedness Month and TEMA said it wants to raise awareness but admits Thursday’s effort was not as successful as it had hoped.

Residents in Jackson had mixed feelings.

“My first thought was, because it was cloudy outside I thought that something was going on, something was coming. I’m glad they did that because it keeps everybody on their toes,” resident Vivian Love said.

“At first it kind of made me laugh because it was like, you should be scared of something that hasn’t happened yet, I thought it was kind of like, fear-mongering a little bit,” Alice Hardin said.

Director of Jackson Emergency Management Marty Clements, said being prepared is key.

“After a disaster happens a lot of times our communications are down, so we are not able to get to them. So if we can do this now, prior to or as it’s happening, then people can start making their own disaster kits,” said Clements.

He also says staying ahead will keep you and your family safe.