Evacuate! Evacuate! ... Oh, never mind

Connecticut mistakenly broadcasts evacuation notice

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updated 4:12 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2005

HARTFORD, Conn. - Despite what residents may have seen on television, the state of Connecticut was not ordered evacuated Tuesday.

State emergency management officials believe someone pressed the wrong button, and instead of running a test of the emergency alert system, midday television viewers and radio listeners were told that the state was being evacuated.

“There is absolutely no evacuation or state emergency,” said Kerry Flaherty, of the Office of Emergency Management. “It was an erroneous message.”

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The department was investigating how the alert was sent. Officials said it is manually released to broadcasters.

The error prompted Gov. Jodi Rell to issue a statement reassuring residents.

“We are looking into the circumstances and will take every step necessary to make certain this type of problem does not reoccur in the future,” she said.

State police said they received no calls related to the erroneous alert.