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Hawaii missile alert fail: What went wrong and how to respond to future alerts?
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This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

Jan 16, 2018
Listen 16:54
Hawaii missile alert fail: What went wrong and how to respond to future alerts?
On Saturday, Hawaii residents woke up to frightening but false alert that a ballistic missile was inbound and to seek immediate shelter.
A morning view of the city of Honolulu, Hawaii is seen on January 13, 2018. 
Social media ignited on January 13, 2018 after apparent screenshots of cell phone emergency alerts warning of a "ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii" began circulating, which US officials quickly dismissed as "false.""Hawaii - this is a false alarm," wrote Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard on Twitter. "I have confirmed with officials there is no incoming missile." The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency also confirmed there is "NO missile threat to Hawaii." US military spokesman David Benham said the US Pacific Command "has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error," adding that the US state would "send out a correction message as soon as possible."
 / AFP PHOTO / Eugene Tanner        (Photo credit should read EUGENE TANNER/AFP/Getty Images)
A morning view of the city of Honolulu, Hawaii is seen on January 13, 2018. Social media ignited on after apparent screenshots of cell phone emergency alerts warning of a "ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii" began circulating, which US officials quickly dismissed as "false."
(
EUGENE TANNER/AFP/Getty Images
)

On Saturday, Hawaii residents woke up to frightening but false alert that a ballistic missile was inbound and to seek immediate shelter.

On Saturday, Hawaii residents woke up to a frightening but false alert to seek immediate shelter from an inbound ballistic missile.

It took 38-minutes of pandemonium until an official correction report was issued.

Hawaii officials apologized to an enraged state that had to abandon cars on the highway and rush to call and find their loved ones. Many residents weren’t even sure of how to prepare for a missile attack, with some desperately huddling with their families in bathtubs and garages. In an original timeline, officials said that an emergency management employee hit a “wrong button,” but subsequent reports show the protocol for issuing emergency alerts in Hawaii is much more complicated.

The FCC has launched an investigation into the incident, with Chairman Ajit Pai stating that the mishap was “absolutely unacceptable” and undermines “public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies.”

This morning, Japan also experienced a similar scare after broadcasting a false North Korea missile threat alert.

We get the latest on the story and also parse through how to respond to future alerts.

Guest:

Todd Frankel, reporter for the Washington Post who has been following the story; he tweets

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