Hawaiians suffered a collective panic attack early Saturday
morning, January 13th, when the state’s Civil Defense erroneously
sent out a phone alert warning of a “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO
HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Residents received the
alert at 8:07 a.m. local time, and a similar message appeared on local
television networks.
The
alert was apparently caused by a Civil Defense employee who accidentally pushed
the wrong buttons during a staff shift-change, according to Hawaii News Now and
online reports. The timing of the error couldn’t have been much worse, given
the recent threats from North Korea and Kim Jong-Un, and the fact that Hawaii
now appears to fall well within range of the Hermit Kingdom’s ballistic
missiles. After receiving the alert, residents understandably started calling
911, asking where they should go. Roughly 12 minutes later, the Aloha State’s
Emergency Management Agency tweeted
that it was a false alarm, and some local politicians confirmed the mistake, as
well. However, it took 37 minutes for Civil Defense to send
out another phone alert acknowledging the error.
Meanwhile,
many residents were in a state of panicked chaos, expecting the worst for 37
agonizing minutes. When informed of the miscue, The Paradise of the Pacific’s
lawmakers were as angry as its citizens, one slamming the mistake as
“inexcusable,” adding, “the whole state was terrified,” according to London’s
Daily Mail.
When the false alarm alert finally
arrived on citizen’s phones, that
message read: “There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii.
Repeat. False Alarm.”
They should have at least added, “SORRY FOR
ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED. AS YOU WERE.”
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