It was the scariest half hour for over 1.5 million locals and tourists in the US state of Hawaii over the weekend, when a bomb threat was accidentally delivered to their mobile phones.
Hearts dropped, fear rose and tears flooded as millions of eyes scrolled over the words: “Ballistic Missile Threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”
HAWAII – THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE. THE ALERT WAS SENT OUT INADVERENTLY. I HAVE SPOKEN TO HAWAII OFFICIALS AND CONFIRMED THERE IS NO THREAT. pic.twitter.com/hwRGct2aTa
— Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiPress) January 13, 2018
A manic scene followed with cars being abandoned on highways, houses and stores shut in urgency and people flooding the streets desperately seeking somewhere safe to hide.
For exactly 38 minutes locals and visitors believed their lives were in immediate danger, until their phones vibrated with a second message from the state.
“There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii,” the follow-up text read. “Repeat. False Alarm.”
Ballistic #missile warning sent in error by #Hawaii authorities https://t.co/i6Is22xPJk pic.twitter.com/IdwRtOR9SO
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) January 14, 2018
Can you imagine the unanimous sigh of relief, the grateful tears of being alive and the millions of phone calls to loved ones assuring them of their safety?
According to Hawaii’s political leaders, the initial missile message was accidentally issued by an employee, who “feels bad” for causing mass panic.
Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi apologised for the event and the delay in correcting the error as “there was no automated way to send a false alarm cancellation”.
The Hawaii employee that put the state into a panic says that he "feels really bad". He will get extra training, but will not be fired!
To activate the alert he had to go through a 2 stage process; he triggered the alarm, then confirmed it.
Would you fire him?#Hawaii #MAGA
— 🐦Whitney🐦 (@WhitneyChirps) January 14, 2018
The Administrator continued, vowing to make changes to ensure there is no repeat incident, an assurance shared by the state’s tourism leader, George D. Szigeti, who described it as “regrettable and completely avoidable”.
“There was no reason for the alert to be issued and the public needs to know that it was simply a mistake caused by human error.”
George D. Szigeti, Hawaii Tourism Authority President & Chief Executive
“Our governor and the director of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency have made strong public assurances that this type of mistake will never happen again, and we should all take that to heart.”
Pray for calm, peace and healing for our Sisters and Brothers in #Hawaii. One should never have to go through the range of emotions they experienced, especially because of someone's error.
— Michael Blake (Text BLAKE to 66539) (@MrMikeBlake) January 14, 2018
Szigeti said the administration has already started implementing changes and there’s no reason for travellers to reconsider their upcoming trips to Hawaii.
“We have been in contact with our tourism stakeholders to inform them of today’s false alert and reassure them that Hawai‘i’s safety and security is unaffected by today’s unfortunate incident,” he said.
“There is no cause for travelers with trips already booked to Hawai‘i or considering a vacation in the islands to change their plans.”
George D. Szigeti, Hawaii Tourism Authority President & Chief Executive
“Hawai‘i continues to be the safest, cleanest and most welcoming travel destination in the world and the alarm created today by the false alert does not change that at all.”
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