In the morning of January 13, 2018, an alert was accidentally issued via the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert System over television, radio, and cellphones in the U.S. state of Hawaii, instructing citizens to seek out shelter due to an incoming ballistic missile. It concluded: “This is not a drill”. The message was sent at 8:07 a.m. local time. The state had not authorized civil defense outdoor warning sirens.
38 minutes and 13 seconds later, state officials blamed a miscommunication during a drill at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency for the first message. David Ige, the governor, apologized for the erroneous alert. The Federal Communications Commission and the Hawaii House of Representatives launched investigations into the incident, leading to the resignation of the state’s emergency management administrator.
Thanks for the reminder.
That was such an idiotic episode in Hawaii’s recent history.