Millions of Canadians in the country's most populated province were briefly panicked on Sunday morning after an alert reporting an unspecified 'incident' at one of its largest nuclear plants was sent in error.

The initial message said the incident had occurred at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, though it added there had been no abnormal release of radioactivity from the station.

Ontario Power Generation later sent a message saying the alert 'was sent in error. There is no danger to the public or environment.'

The reaction on social media to Sunday's false alarm was fierce, with Twitter users blaming the authorities for inducing panic.

Others ridiculed the authorities with Homer Simpson memes inspired by the dimwitted American dad who is employed at a nuclear power plant.

'Can you tweet a pic of the person responsible being kicked in the balls?' tweeted one Twitter user.

'Seriously? You panicked the entire province in error? Are you by chance from Hawaii?' tweeted Sarah Colero.

The state-owned electric company Ontario Power Generation announced on Sunday that an earlier alert about an 'incident' at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station was a false alarm

An emergency alert issued by the Canadian province of Ontario is shown on television early on Sunday morning

The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is seen above in Pickering, Ontario - which lies about 25 miles northeast of Toronto

One local Toronto area resident posted the alert that was sent to mobile devices

The map above shows the location of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, which is 25 miles from Toronto. The population of metropolitan Toronto is 5.9 million people

Another Twitter user posted: 'Sounds like Homer! DOH!...There will be a committee, 6 month investigation and $750K spent on figuring out the error.'

'Someone needs to be held accountable for this,' tweeted Andru Valpy. 'This is a completely unacceptable use of the Emergency Alert System. You had the entire province waking up in fear.'

David J. Fernandes tweeted: 'No biggie. Just sent 15,000,000 people into absolute panic.'

Another Twitter user compared the incident to the Ukrainian civilian airliner that was shot down by an Iranian missile earlier this week.

The alert sent to residents of the Toronto suburb reported an 'incident' at Pickering.

It also advised residents within 10 kilometers of the station to 'remain tuned to local media for further information and instructions,' though it added that there has been 'NO abnormal release of radioactivity from the station.'

The government says that local emergency services are responding to the situation and that residents do not need to take any protective actions 'at this time.'

The Pickering Generating Station employs about 4,500 people and is the largest employer in the Durham Region.

Pickering is also one of the largest - and one of the oldest - nuclear generating stations in the world, according to the province.

It produces 14 per cent of the electricity consumed by Ontario’s 14.57 million residents.

At full capacity, the station can generate 3,100 megawatts of electricity at any given moment.

Pickering Generating Station houses six nuclear reactors. It produces 14 per cent of Ontario's electricity, according to the government

The station, which began producing electricity 53 years ago, is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2024. The above image from April 2019 shows the control room at the station

The station, which began producing electricity 53 years ago, is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2024.

Local community advocates have urged authorities to shut down the station so that the 600 acres of land on which it sits along the waterfront could be utilized for parks, housing, and commercial development.

But Ontario Power Generation, the government-run electric company, wants to put off dismantling of the station until 2054.

OPG says that deferring the dismantling of the station would protect its employees from exposure to radioactive waste.

According to the authorities, nuclear energy supplies electricity for 60 per cent of Ontario residents, making it the largest source of power.

The mishap on Sunday reminded residents of the January 2018 panic that was caused by a false report of a missile heading toward Hawaii

The alarm, which went uncorrected for 38 minutes after being transmitted to mobile phones and broadcast stations, caused widespread panic across the Pacific islands state

Most of Canada’s 19 nuclear reactors are located in Ontario, the province with the country's largest population.

Ontario has come to rely on nuclear power to generate fuel as a way of moving away from coal and fossil fuels.

The mishap on Sunday reminded residents of the January 2018 panic that was caused by a false report of a missile heading toward Hawaii.

The alarm, which went uncorrected for 38 minutes after being transmitted to mobile phones and broadcast stations, caused widespread panic across the Pacific islands state.

The false alarm was caused by a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee who 'pushed the wrong buttons' during an internal drill timed to coincide with a shift handover at 8:07am.

Incredibly, officials said the employee who made the mistake wasn't aware of it until mobile phones in the command center began displaying the alert.

'Can you tweet a pic of the person responsible being kicked in the balls?' tweeted one Twitter user

'Seriously? You panicked the entire province in error? Are you by chance from Hawaii?' tweeted Sarah Colero

Another Twitter user posted: 'Sounds like Homer! DOH!...There will be a committee, 6 month investigation and $750K spent on figuring out the error'

'Someone needs to be held accountable for this,' tweeted Andru Valpy. 'This is a completely unacceptable use of the Emergency Alert System. You had the entire province waking up in fear'

David J. Fernandes tweeted: 'No biggie. Just sent 15,000,000 people into absolute panic'

Other Twitter users wondered if Homer Simpson was at the controls of the nuclear power station - just like he is on television

Another Twitter user compared the incident to the Ukrainian civilian airliner that was shot down by an Iranian missile earlier this week