Read more about Panic abounds as false missile alert unnerves Hawaii residents, tourists on Business Standard. Hawaii Governor David Ige said ‘human error’ caused the alert to go out
A false alert warning of a ballistic aimed at today triggered panic in the US territory, forcing authorities to apologise for the “human error”, amidst fears of an attack by At around 8.07 am local time, an emergency alert was sent to all in caps. “Ballistic threat inbounds to Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill”. About 10 minutes later, Agency tweeted that there was no such threat. “No threat to Hawaii,” it said. The second emergency alert went out at 8:45 am. “There is no threat or danger to the State of Repeat. False Alarm,” it said. said “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 was quoted as saying by The warning went out to television and radio as well as cell phones, Ige added. Ige also tweeted that he is meeting with top defence and officials from the state “to determine what caused this morning’s false alarm and to prevent it from happening again.” in a separate statement said it detected no ballistic threat to “Earlier message was sent in error,” it said. are usually dispatched during critical emergency situations and are a partnership of the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Agency and the Shortly after the false alarm, FCC said the commission was launching an investigation into what happened. Senator also took to yesterday in the wake of the false alarm. “There is no threat,” the tweeted. “It was a false alarm based on a human error. There is nothing more important to than professionalizing and fool-proofing this process.” said has been briefed on the state of Hawaii’s exercise. The alert came when tension with has been at one of the highest points in decades, and when North Korean dictator has promised more tests and threatened an atmospheric nuclear test. Less than two months ago, reinstated its Cold War-era nuclear warning sirens amid growing fears of an attack by If a were launched by toward Hawaii, the 1.4 million residents of the islands would have only about 20 minutes’ notice before it hit. Democratic Congresswoman said the people of “just got a sense of the stark reality of what a nuclear strike on would be”. “Over a million of Hawaii’s people were faced with the immediate reality of having 15 minutes to find a place to “take shelter,” wondering where do I go? What shelter is going to protect me & my family from a nuclear bomb? But there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide,” she said in a series of lengthy tweets. “Everyone in needs to understand that if you had to go through this, you would be as angry as I am — I have been talking about the seriousness of this threat for years,” Gabbard said. The Congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard accused Trump of “posturing” and not taking nuclear threats from seriously and urged to begin direct talks with without preconditions. ” is taking too long. Now is not the time for posturing.
He must take this threat seriously and begin direct talks with North Korea, without preconditions, to de-escalate and denuclearise the There is no time to waste,” Gabbard said. “The people of should never have had to go through this. The people of should not be faced with this threat right now. We need peace — not political bickering. We have to talk to and find a peaceful path to get rid of this nuclear threat,” she said. Hawaiian residents and tourists described an island paradise turned upside down as people crawled under tables in cafes, were ushered into military hangars and huddled around televisions to watch the news for the latest developments after the alert was issued. resident Amy Pottinger’s husband is a pilot for the US Air Force, stationed in Pottinger hadn’t seen the alert yet when her husband, who was on his way to work, called to tell her he was on his way home. He was in a cafe on base when phones started going off around him, Pottinger said. As he was leaving, he saw people taking cover. “People were crawling under tables and hiding,” she said, “and going into buildings that looked more sturdy.” Another citizen had just woken up in her when she was hurried into the hotel’s basement to take shelter from an incoming ballistic “You’re thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, are we going to die? Is it really a (headed) our way, or is it just a test?'” the 24-year-old said. Azbell, her boyfriend and hundreds of other hotel guests were “herded like cows” into the basement by staff. “People are crying and people obviously were super scared,” she said. For 20 minutes, Azbell said, they waited. Finally, they were told that the alert was a false alarm, and they were free to resume their day. Azbell said she was “super relieved.” ” is beautiful,” she said. “But it’s not where I want to die”.
