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'Attention. An emergency is occuring': Sirens in Warrensburg malfunction, scare residents

Posted at 9:15 AM, Aug 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-22 10:15:56-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Residents of Warrensburg, Missouri, received quite a scare overnight when outdoor warning systems mysteriously self-activated.

“Attention. An emergency is occurring. Please stay inside. Tune to local area radio and TV stations for further information,” blared over speakers throughout the town, as heard in a video posted to Facebook.

Commenters on the post said it was unsettling.

“I had never heard that kind of alert before so I was very uneasy,” one person wrote.

“I was expecting the apocalypse any second,” another said.

The Johnson County, Missouri, Emergency Management Agency said in a Facebook post that the outdoor warning system malfunctioned, sending out the message.

The office said the system is used for several things other than alerting residents to severe weather, including issuing “shelter in place emergency instructions due to an active threat, civil defense emergency or hazardous materials incident.”

Emergency management officials urged residents to follow the office on social media and sign up for mobile alerts to stay up-to-date, and reminded them not to call 911 in situations such as these simply to get more information about what’s happening.

The office said that ties up phone lines needed for those who are in a real emergency.

Watch the video below.