Hawaii has re-introduced Cold War-era sirens and also has text and email warning systems for ensuring the safety of its residents.
But recently, Hawaii residents received a text message, which falsely stated a ballistic missile threat and asked them to seek shelter immediately.
This erratic mistake could prove costly and requires scrutiny.
What just happened?
The text declaring emergency was apparently sent by mistake by an employee at Hawaii’s “Emergency Management Agency”.
While the incorrect alert was corrected by email 18 minutes later, for the next 38 minutes, there was no follow-up phone text correction.
Notably, Hawaii is only 4,661 miles from North Korea, which is well within the 6,000 miles range of the Korea’s Hwasong 14 missile.
While after trigger, the missile will take 20 minutes to reach Hawaii, the pacific command would take 5 minutes to react.
This effectively leaves residents with just 15 minutes to seek shelter and hence the emergency call caused immense panic.
Also, as many felt that it was the end of their lives, they tried calling their loved ones, and telephone services too got jammed briefly.
Most rushed to basement shelters but some decided they’d rather die looking at Hawaii’s famed sea beaches.
What was the official response?
Government - Across ranks, government officials apologised for the mess-up and even a federal investigation was commissioned.
Officials have also started working on a ‘cancellation template’ for sending corrections faster to mobile phones.
Notably, Since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour during the WW-II, Hawaii feels impending attacks sharply.
Nuclear experts – They’ve stressed that a mistaken message could possibly start an unintended nuclear war.
This is because the enemy could perceive that the fuss is a cover-up for an offensive strike and hence triggers his “first-strike stability” for deterrence.
They’ve hence called for a strong calculated review of the current mess up.
