'Glitch' sparks false tsunami warning alert on US east coast

Some people on the east coast of the United States have received an alert on their mobile phones about a tsunami warning, which the National Weather Service said was meant to be just a test.

A routine US National Weather Service (NWS) test has resulted in a false push notification to mobile phones about a tsunami warning on America's east coast.

A glitch meant some people received what looked like an actual warning, NWS meteorologist Hendricus Lulofs said. The service is trying to sort what went wrong, he said.

Officials said it appeared to be an issue with the popular Accuweather app.

Jeremy DaRos, of Portland, Maine, said the alert made him "jump" because he lives a stone's throw from the water and was aware of recent spate of small earthquakes that made the alert seem plausible.

He said: "Looking out the window and seeing the ocean puts you in a different frame of mind when you get a tsunami warning."

Mr DaRos said that after clicking on the push notification for details, he realised it was just a test.

This is the latest in a spate of false alarms in the past month.

A Hawaii state employee mistakenly sent an alert warning of a ballistic missile attack on January 13, while a malfunction triggered sirens at a North Carolina nuclear power plant on January 19.