"Startling Earthquake Alerts: Testing, Magnitude, and Misinformation Explained"

Users of the earthquake alerts app, MyShake, on the West Coast were startled when a test alert for a simulated magnitude 5 earthquake was sent seven hours early due to a time zone mix-up. The app, developed by the University of California, Berkeley, had planned to send the test alert at 10:19 a.m. Pacific time but was mistakenly sent at 3:19 a.m. Pacific time. The alert reached potentially over a million people, causing some to be jolted awake. The error does not affect the app's real-time alert system, and another test alert was sent later as planned. ShakeAlert, the system that powers MyShake, is constantly improving, and the incident serves as a reminder that earthquakes can strike at any time.