US TV viewers subjected to terrifying 'emergency alert' suggesting the world will end today

'It almost sounded like Hitler talking'

TV viewers were told the end of the world would be on 23 September (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Residents in Orange County were alarmed when their television programming was interrupted by a doomsday message.

Shocked viewers saw an emergency banner flash across their screen accompanied by a man’s voice informing them that the end of the world was near.

The unknown man said “Realise this, extremely violent times will come,” and that the end of the world would occur on 23 September.

“It almost sounded like Hitler talking,” Stacy Laflamme told the Orange County Register.

She added: “It sounded like a radio broadcast coming through the television.”

Another woman, Erin Mireles, said: “I was definitely startled, because the volume increased exponentially...I wasn’t alarmed in the sense of thinking something was wrong. I assumed it was some sort of hack."

The ominous message was in fact due to a glitch at a local radio station and affected more than one television provider.

A Christian radio station, KWVE-FM, released a statement taking responsibility for the interruption: “During a regularly scheduled test of the Emergency Alert System for Orange County, KWVE-FM experienced an equipment failure that resulted in KWVE-FM not sending the end-of-message tones that would disconnect those media entities participating in the Emergency Alert System test.”