BALTIMORE, MD — A text warning that a tsunami could be headed to the East Coast was sent in error Tuesday morning, causing panic for some before emergency officials identified the alert as a mistake.

The alert was sent by the National Weather Service and was received by subscribers from South Carolina up to Connecticut, the service said in a tweet.

Tweets from the National Weather Service office in Baltimore and from AccuWeather quickly informed receivers that it was a test and there was no tsunami threat.