HONOLULU – Residents of US state Hawaii were left in shock and despair after an alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile was sent in error on Saturday.
“Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill,” the emergency alert read which left the locals high and dry.
Though the message stumped the internet in a few minutes, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency quickly responded on Twitter, saying, “NO missile threat to Hawaii.
https://twitter.com/Hawaii_EMA/status/952243912415985664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F01%2F13%2Fpolitics%2Fhawaii-missile-threat-false-alarm%2Findex.html
“I deeply apologise for the trouble and heartbreak that we caused today,” said Vern Miyagi, administrator of Hawaii´s Emergency Management Agency after the message horrified the locals.
The officials determined the notification was sent just after 8:00 am (1800 GMT) during a shift change and a drill after “the wrong button was pushed”.
On the other hand, Hawaii Governor David Ige told newsmen that human error caused the alert to go out.
“It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the change over of a shift, and an employee pushed the wrong button,” he said in a conversation with CNN.
In another tweet, the representative announced holding a special meeting to determine false alarm reasons.
https://twitter.com/GovHawaii/status/952262659952357376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F01%2F13%2Fpolitics%2Fhawaii-missile-threat-false-alarm%2Findex.html
A second emergency alert was sent to phones in Hawaii 38 minutes after the initial message confirming the false alarm.
