NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — Thousands of Newaygo County residents got a text message on their phones Tuesday morning warning them below the Hardy Dam to "EVACUATE NOW!" The message was a test, though many thought it was real.
County officials acknowledged this emergency alert testing system could've gone a lot smoother.
After receiving the text message evacuation alert on their phones, more than 100 people called Newaygo County dispatch, 100 to the non-emergency line and 35 to the emergency line.
The test was sent out to 9,500 residents total.
Newaygo County's board chair, Bryan Kolk, says their intention was not to panic anyone.
"My understanding is some of the people who read that instead of reading 'test' read 'text,' and didn't realize this was going to be a test and so that was part of what the upset was and the misunderstanding came from," said Kolk.
The exercise started around 9 a.m. and finished around 2 p.m.
Michigan State Police, which worked with the county on this training exercise, says officials did give the community a heads up.
"The social media messages did go out two weeks prior, a week prior and once again yesterday it was put out on platforms," said Lt. Michelle Robinson with Michigan State Police.
County officials say there's always a learning curve with these exercises and this is an opportunity for them to change and tweak the messaging going forward.
"That's one of the reasons why we run these tests so next time that's something we have to pay a little more attention to."
"We do want to make sure that we are prepared if there ever is a critical incident," said Robinson.
The county and state do this exercise once a year.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.