False tsunami warning sent to U.S. East Coast

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A false tsunami warning was sent out on Tuesday morning to some residents along the U.S. East Coast.

"A monthly Tsunami Warning test was issued around 830 am by @NWS_NTWC. We have been notified that some users received this test message as an actual Tsunami Warning." said a tweet from the National Weather Service in Charleston, South Carolina.

"A Tsunami Warning is not in effect. Repeat, a Tsunami Warning is not in effect," the service tweeted.

"The test message was released by at least one private sector company as an official Tsunami Warning, resulting in widespread reports of tsunami warnings received via phones and other media across the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean," the NWS said in a statement.

The push notification sent to phones in South Carolina was reportedly sent by the AccuWeather app, according to an NBC news report.

"The National Weather Service Tsunami Warning this morning was a TEST. No Tsunami warning is in effect for the East Coast of the U.S.," the AccuWeather also tweeted.

The NWS said it was looking into why the test message was communicated as an actual tsunami warning.

Last month a false alarm warning of an imminent missile attack was sent out in Hawaii, sparking panic and sending Hawaii residents scrambling for shelter. Enditem