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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Seminole County residents received an emergency alert early Wednesday morning on their cell phones letting them know that an evacuation order had been issued for the county. Minutes later, a second alert was issued clarifying that the evacuation order was for those in RVs and low-lying areas.
"Seminole County issued an evacuation order for Hurricane Milton," read the first alert.
Ten minutes later, a second alert was sent: "Evac Order for mobile home, flood areas, and persons with special needs."
What happened? Why were two alerts sent?
In a statement, Andy Wontor, public information division manager for Seminole County's Office of Communications, said the alerts were not sent in "error," but that the first alert did not have specifics attached.
"It was not an error. It is just for a specific population, the first alert didn’t have the specifics attached in the alert for all devices," he said in an email to FOX 35.
To be clear, Seminole County issued an evacuation order for those who live in mobile homes, low-lying areas, and for residents with special needs.
Hurricane Milton has become a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to have devastating and destructive impacts across Florida, including storm surge and flood on the Gulf Coast, and damaging windows, flooding, and the potential for tornadoes in Central Florida.
"My heart dropped when I got the first message and it is too late for anything at this point," someone named Amanda wrote in a comment under a post on Seminole County's Facebook page.
"I am concerned about the first alert that was sent out. Everyone is trying their best to stay calm and it created panic," someone named Amber wrote. "That was an intense few minutes of trying to figure out what was happening."