‘Wrong button’ was all it took cause panic in paradise

With the advancements in technology, messages can be sent and received quickly. And depending on the messages, people respond.

Turns out, it took only one person to push Hawaii’s buttons.

Governor David Ige revealed that the emergency alert about an incoming “ballistic missile threat”, which jolted Hawaiians awake, was a false alarm caused by someone pushing the “wrong button”.

“It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the change over of a shift and an employee pushed the wrong button”, Ige told an international news agency. “The warning went out to cell phones, television and radio got the emergency alert”.

“Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill”, the alert read.

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While the message caused concerns on social media, the Hawaii Office of Emergency Management responded after 38 minutes on Twitter, saying, 

NO missile threat to Hawaii.

— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) January 13, 2018

Ige also issued a statement via Twitter, saying he wanted to “get to the bottom of this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future”.

“While I am thankful this morning’s alert was a false alarm, the public must have confidence in our emergency alert system”, he wrote.

STATEMENT: While I am thankful this morning’s alert was a false alarm, the public must have confidence in our emergency alert system. I am working to get to the bottom of this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future.

— Governor David Ige (@GovHawaii) January 13, 2018

I am meeting this morning with top officials of the State Department of Defense and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to determine what caused this morning’s false alarm and to prevent it from happening again.

— Governor David Ige (@GovHawaii) January 13, 2018

The White House issued a statement on the false alarm, noting that United States President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.

“This was purely a state exercise”, the statement added. 

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The US government announced there would be a full investigation.

An alert system is in place because of the potential proximity of Hawaii to North Korean missiles.

In December, the state tested its nuclear warning siren for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Why was Hawaii already on edge?

North Korea’s missile and a nuclear programme are seen as a growing threat to America. Hawaii is one of the US states closest to North Korea.

In September Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test.

Last month, an international newspaper reported that a missile launched from North Korea could strike Hawaii within 20 minutes of launch.