UNITED STATES: Ballistic missile warning sent in error by Hawaii authorities

An emergency alert was sent mistakenly on Saturday to Hawaii’s residents warning of an imminent ballistic missile attack when an employee at the state emergency management agency pushed the “wrong button,” Hawaii’s governor said. State officials and the U.S. military’s Pacific Command confirmed that there was no actual threat to the state. But for more […]

An emergency alert was sent mistakenly on Saturday to Hawaii’s residents warning of an imminent ballistic missile attack when an employee at the state emergency management agency pushed the “wrong button,” Hawaii’s governor said.

State officials and the U.S. military’s Pacific Command confirmed that there was no actual threat to the state. But for more than a half hour, while the agency struggled to retract the warning, panicked Hawaiians scrambled to find shelter.

The mistaken alert stated: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”

The alert, sent to mobile phones and aired on television and radio shortly after 8 a.m., was issued amid high international tensions over North Korea’s development of ballistic nuclear weapons.

Governor David Ige told a news conference he was “angry and disappointed” over the incident, apologized for it and said the state would take steps to ensure it never happens again.