Tornado alert sparks public terror

PEOPLE in Los Angeles were left terrified when they were told to lie flat in the nearest ditch as the city was about to be hit by a monster storm.

The California governor’s Office of Emergency Services mistakenly issued a tornado alert for LA on Saturday and warned “if no shelter is available, lie flat in the nearest ditch.”

“At 8.25am a large and extremely dangerous tornado was seven miles south of Glendale, near downtown Los Angeles,” said the alert.