Tennessee Emergency Management Agency issued two statewide alerts Thursday morning as part of a test. Since then, TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan has apologized for the confusion caused by the tests.

“We have received calls and messages from hundreds of Tennesseans letting us know about problems with receiving messages and the concerns caused by the messages received. In many instances the caveats that the message was part of a test were not received, making it seem like an emergency was imminent. While many are understanding, knowing that we need to test our systems, many have voiced their concerns about the angst this test cause. Please accept my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience today’s test caused,” wrote Sheehan.

He said TEMA would not conduct any more tests in the foreseeable future.

He said the test was important to know about problems in the system before there is a widespread emergency.

The test was intentionally timed with the start of National Preparedness Month and was designed to have limited impact on the public.