Florida ends contract with tech company after early emergency alert

Nothing says good morning like a very, very early wake-up call from Florida's emergency alert system.

Driving the news: The state Division of Emergency Management received a barrage of criticism Thursday from residents and politicians who awoke to the sound of their blaring phones after it sent a test at 4:45am.

• The division apologized for the inconvenience and said the alert wasn't intended to be sent over the phone but via television.

Why it matters: Floridians don't agree on much. But if that early morning alert is any indication, we certainly don't like being woken up.

• The negative response from the public stirred legitimate concern that irked residents would turn off emergency alerts in a state more often affected by hurricanes than other parts of the U.S.

What they're saying: Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a sharp rebuke of the alert, calling it "inappropriate" and demanding "swift accountability."

• DeSantis got what he ordered. The division told Axios it severed its contract with Everbridge, a company that provides technical coding and instructions to push out alerts.

"I thought the governor told us Florida is where WOKE goes to die," former state Sen. Annette Taddeo quipped in a tweet. "And yet all of Florida was sure WOKE from the emergency alert sent to us."