ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Governor learned missile alert was false within two minutes

The leader of the Hawaii National Guard told state lawmakers Friday that he informed the governor that a panic-inducing missile alert was a false alarm two minutes after it had been sent to cellphones statewide.

Amid the chaos and confusion, it took officials 38 minutes to send a second message saying the original message was an error. Officials have said a flaw in the alert system delayed the distribution of the correction.

“The false alarm has identified so many gaps in the system,” majority leader of the Hawaii State House, said in a phone interview Saturday. “We won’t see this kind of communications breakdown again.”

A spokeswoman for Gov. David Ige did not immediately return an email seeking comment on Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Logan, who also directs the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, learned the alert was a false alarm after speaking with the U.S. Pacific Command, an agency spokesman, Richard Rapoza, said Saturday. Logan called the governor at 8:09 a.m.

It took another 11 minutes for the emergency management agency to tweet that there was “NO missile threat to Hawaii.” Ige reiterated that message in his own tweet four minutes later. At 8:45 a.m., the message correcting the missile threat lit up cellphones.

Rapoza said that in the critical minutes after the missile alert went out, he and several other government employees simultaneously tried to confirm it was a false alarm. Once they did, some began calling and emailing the news media, he said.

The atmosphere that morning was “tremendously difficult” and one in which it was easy to “lose track of time,” he said.

“I don’t think there was any dereliction or misjudgment” on the part of the governor, Rapoza said. “I think he did the very best he could.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Logan “was simply telling the truth” at the hearing with lawmakers, Rapoza added.

Still, the emergency alert set off widespread panic in a state already on edge because of escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea.

Officials said the alert was the result of human error and not the work of hackers or a foreign government. Rapoza previously said the mistake occurred during a shift-change drill at the emergency command post when “someone clicked the wrong thing on the computer.”

Ige has called what happened “totally unacceptable” and has apologized for the panic it caused.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT