The missile alert in Hawaii
Thirty-eight minutes of chaos
15 January 2018
A false report of an impending ballistic missile attack on Hawaii on Saturday sent more than one million people fleeing to shelter, with many believing they only had minutes to live before nuclear incineration. People sought refuge in highway tunnels, underground parking garages and basements, and even lowered their children into sewer manholes. There were harrowing conversations, as people made what they thought could be their final phone calls to loved ones.
The alert, issued by the state of Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency, delivered a stark message to most cell phones throughout the island chain: “Emergency Alert: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” The alert was immediately rebroadcast by local television and radio stations under longstanding arrangements that place the media at the service of the military in the event of war.
According to state officials, the alert was the result of an emergency worker pressing the wrong button during an exercise carried out regularly at every eight-hour shift change around the clock. The Trump administration downplayed the event as a “state exercise” that did not involve national military forces and the American media dismissed it as an accident.
The supposed accident is under investigation and it is highly unlikely that the actual details will ever be made public. But what is known already raises critical political issues.
If an emergency management technician pressed the wrong button, it is likely that he was dealing with new and unfamiliar equipment: the drill itself was put into practice only a few weeks ago. There have been feverish preparations by state officials for a possible nuclear…