As you are well aware, a scary Hawaii missile alert hit phones in Hawaii. It was four years ago today. The alert read, “Inbound Missile Alert – Take Cover, This is Not a Drill.” It took over 30 minutes for a false alert to be issued even though officials knew the error within minutes. We learned subsequently that Governor Ige could not find his Twitter login credential to stop the chaos earlier.
On that unforgettable and otherwise quiet Saturday morning, the ballistic missile alert was inadvertently sent via emergency alert system and was broadcast on television, radio, and via phones throughout the state of Hawaii. For whatever reason, civil defense outdoor warning sirens were not authorized by the state.
The state later blamed the alert on an error during a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency drill. Governor David Ige apologized for the alert, and the FCC and the Hawaii House of Representatives investigated the incident, which subsequently led to the resignation of the department’s administrator.
Let’s just say that we still haven’t forgotten that day, from four years ago.
A Hawaii missile alert was no way to start our day in Hawaii. Your editors were in Honolulu following a flight and doing a trip report on the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines A321neo. Before returning to Kauai, a weekend in the big city had been planned.
While we learned that there was widespread panic in Waikiki and elsewhere in the state, at least where we were, nearly UH, seemed relatively quiet and normal. We heard no air raid sirens blasting or other alert notices posted online. That seemed very odd. It felt like something else was up and not to worry. But there was still a level of anxiety as we wondered why other notices were not forthcoming. And then we learned more about why.
Governor Ige Didn’t Have His Twitter Credentials!
It took the state a seemingly endless 38 minutes to retract the alert, inasmuch as there was apparently no provision in place to correct previously distributed emergency notices. The governor was actually aware within a couple of minutes that this was a false alarm. It was later reported, however, that he did not have his Twitter login credentials needed to dispel fear. Going forward, you can rest assured that the governor knows his password. It’s also a good reminder for everyone to keep passwords handy for emergency situations.
Emergency Warnings in Hawaii.
Luckily these have proven to be false or irrelevant some of the time, although you still have to take them seriously. When we receive an alert, we always go to additional sources to verify the level of a threat if there is any. Obviously, any emergency alert is important in order to protect personal safety.
The latest alert was just this week.
As regular commenter Richard just mentioned, there was another alert just this week. He said, “Are you ready for this on January 10th the FAA briefly halted some U.S. West Coast flights around the time of N. Korea hypersonic missile launch. The ground stop occurred around 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time and lasted only 15 minutes.”
Comic Relief.
Once it was over, there were t-shirts on the market with a comic spin of what happened. We also found a video called, Staying Alive (the Hawaii Missile threat) by Frank Delima that is worth a look.
If you were here in Hawaii on January 13, 2018, tell us what it was like for you.
Updated 1/13/22.
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I was there for an over 50 soccer tournament (as a player). I was watching TV that morning (inevitably a soccer game) when the emergency broadcast started on the TV. I called my wife in, who was just out of the shower. We couldn’t believe it…..we went down to the basement of the hotel….called our son on the mainland….and then our friends who are his guardians, if we die. Those were fun conversations. Thankfully the all clear came just as we got to street level. We had a game later that day and our striker was a bit off form. Like me he’s Scottish….and confessed he’d gone immediately to the nearest bar, when the alarm was sounded, and downed three single malts in 10 mins.
I had just landed at the airport in Maui. I mostly remember that for my entire stay that was the bulk of TV news coverage.
Hoping to return in a coupe of weeks.
My daughter and I were at a Science Olympiad competition. We were all in the cafeteria waiting for events to start when cell phones began blaring the warning. It was surreal. We were told to shelter in place, but after a few minutes, we chose to go into a restroom instead, because we thought a smaller room might be safer. On the walk there I held my daughter’s hand. She said, “Mom, I don’t want to die.” I told her I didn’t either, but that at least we were together. I’ll never forget…
I was working in Kapaa when I got the alert. First thing I did was look to see if Sleeping Giant was still sleeping! Only on Kaua’i,,,
On Tuesday Jan 11th the FAA briefly grounded west coast flights due to North Korea launching a Mach 10 hypersonic missile. This is a clear and present danger to all Hawaiians. According to the New York Times Magazine in a 2018 article the hypersonic missile would reach Hawaii in 15 minutes. At least nobody will have to endure 38 minutes of panic if the attack is real next time.
Hoping this passes muster, my favorite story from the alert: Two workers were bored that Saturday morning and wanted some music to pep up the office. A worker said, “Hey Siri, play me so horny.”
Siri responded as she sometimes doesn’t hear clearly, “Okay, playing missile warning.”
I was sleeping late that weekend, with my cellphone turned off, so missed the whole thing. Jesus is my Savior, so I’m seriously ready to go at any time. Which is a good thing, given the news reports of Communist China’s on-going massive military & nuclear build-up, which could turn this “drill” into a reality one day. Certainly hope not, but only God knows.
Well I am very pleased, indeed, that I did not vote for Mr. Ige.
Does not inspire confidence nor leadership driven decision making.
Frankly I am surprised that the Hawaii government has stood up to and appears to be prevailing over the U S military regarding the 8 year old fuel leakage into our precious Hawaii water source.
Still have front page Maui News. We’d been on Maui couple days. When I saw alarm, simultaneously wanted to laugh & freak. Thought it had to be a mistake, but…I thought, we’re in a concrete building, on 3rd floor, just go sit in the interior hallway to wait, I’m in my happy place, my kids are safe on mainland, faith in God strong. Speakers I didn’t know existed in our TS went off telling us to leave our rooms, only take stairs to ground floor, stay in bldg. Maui Ocean Club did good job IMO.
It wasn’t quite as funny for the Tourists on the Beach in Waikiki, being told to hit the Sewers, a few Heart Attacks, then Mazie Hirono blamed the USN in Pearl Harbor, when the culprit was a City or County Employee who failed to follow Protocols! There’s something about Governor Ige, that should have told the Electorate, this guy is not ready for this job!
We’re at Hilton Garden Inn and we saw many boats traveling away from the island. Some people were running on the streets. The hotel had a loudspeaker within the hotel saying to stay in our rooms. My wife and I were sending our “just in case” goodbye and I love you texts to our loved ones. I was scouring Twitter for updates and didn’t find anything significant until Tulsi Gabbard tweeted out information that relived us. It was interesting elevator ride down with random guests at the hotel.
I had just finished a walk on Kaanapali Beach and arrived back at the condo. The wife called and told me about the attack. I said do you think little Kim would sacrifice his country to take out Honolulu. She was herded into the basement of the Hyatt.
Aloha BOH Bro’s
Are you ready for this on January 10th the FAA briefly halted some U.S. West Coast flights around time of N.Korea hyper sonic missile launch.
The ground stop occurred around 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time and lasted only 15 minutes.
I had just arrived on the Big Island the day before to begin a 3-week stay with my best friend, Carol. The morning of this, I was just sitting down on her lanai, cup of coffee in hand, looking at the gorgeous ocean and this notice popped up on my phone, bright red, and an obnoxious noise. Needless to say, I panicked. I immediately sent texts to my family on the mainland, told them I loved them. And then waited … And then we heard that Ige forgot his Twitter password … @#!%$ Very scary!!
We were vacationing at Sugar Beach resort by Kihei with our 2 small children. It was surreal families were going down to the beach to wait & watch. We had plans to drive the road to Hana that day, there was barely any traffic.
We had just gotten in the car to go down the hill to Hanalei Bay. I looked at my husband and said, “I don’t even know what to do with that” We went back to the condo of course. A couple days before, we felt big booms and the condo shook. Not sure it was a false alarm. I still have the alert from my phone. On the radio bulletin they said this is not a drill! The naval commander has detected an incoming missile, you have x amount of minuets to seek shelter. Thanks for sharing this reminder.
Hi Lisa.
Thanks. We appreciate you sharing your experience.
Aloha.
We were on the North Shore at Pale Ke Kua, sipping Kauai coffee on the lanai when both our phones went off indicating the missile alert. We both stared at our phones in disbelief for perhaps thirty seconds.
We looked around and noticed it was a perfectly peaceful morning. No one was running screaming or anything.
After a bit we said to ourselves: “Well, if this is the end, there is no better place to experience it than on Kauai sipping Kauai coffee on a beautiful day in paradise”.
I was on the KBC north end grassy beach. Only one around was a local woman who came over and asked if I knew about the missile alert. Her son in South Africa had just texted her. I looked around. I was indeed the only one on the beach. Security hadn’t seen me when they rousted everyone from their lounges. I started to leave when she put her arm around me and said “let’s stay and pray”! Trying not to be rude, I left! No one there. I tried to get Kukui off his perch – he wasn’t going to die alone!
Aloha
My husband and I were vacationing on Molokai when we received an emergency alert on our cell phones
What a frightening experiance that was! We didn’t know if we should contact our family or head for the hills. We chose the later. All’s well that ends well, we had a wonderful time in spite of the mishap.
We had two small children in the closet, with pillows and blankets, and our host nailed a huge sheet of plywood over the closet opening. We filled the sink and bathtubs with water. We put a big mattress over the plywood in front of the closet. We were all fairly calm until we got the message that it was a false alert / alarm. We were pretty shook up for the rest of the day and more, that’s for sure.
I was in a hot yoga class on Kauai and did not receive the message until after the class; so I got the “oops” message at the same time as I saw the warning. My spouse of 35 years was not as lucky. She was alone at our Princeville rental condo and lived through the terror of the warning. after the initial shock, she started filling vessels with water and shutting the windows and closing the blinds, preparing to be stuck there for 2 weeks. She then left a message on my cell phone that brought me to my knees when I heard it after that yoga class. hearing your wife say good bye, certainly killed my yoga buzz.
I live in Kailua-Kona, I’m 65 and not much of an imbiber. However, on that particular Saturday morning, I was just about to prepare a VERY early morning cocktail and sit out on my lanai!
Great info. and youtube thanks for posting. So… if the NSA is in Oahu they have to be set-up as Nuke safety area, so is that where everyone should go?
I was upcountry in Kula (on Maui) with some girlfriends. We had gone to a friend’s home to purchase fabric that was on sale (we are all quilters). All of a sudden the emergency siren went off (apparently the ONLY siren heard) and then our phones all alerted us of the impending doom. Many of the ladies just continued shopping for their fabric but I went inside and three of us started calling. I called my children and husband, basically to tell them what was happening and to say I loved them and maybe good-bye. The emotions really came out as I called my sons, who live on the mainland with their own families. We noticed that it was not being talked about on the TV and nothing was on the news in CA or ID, where I had called. We all knew it could be a mistake but with the President we have and all the worry about N Korea, we had to assume the worse. There was nowhere to hide or shelter in place, so after calling my family, I joined in with the shopping and tried to relax. We all felt if it was our time to go, we would at least be doing something we enjoy…shopping for fabric!
Linda M – You’re my kind of gal! I’m also a quilter. If you gotta go, do something you enjoy! Love it!
Let’s not even remotely blame it on the President as this whole fiasco could have been prevented had Gov Inge had his credentials!!! Why everything that happens has to be the President’s, regardless of who it my be, fault.
Aloha, and thank you so much for this opportunity to say a few words,
My daughter and her young family live on the North Shore, and she was also very frazzled. She called me, and asked if I had seen the news, or heard anything on the radio about the inbound missile headed for the islands? I told her no, I had not heard, but then turned on my tv to see if there was anything that the news was reporting,
I live on the mainland, in CA.and the answer to that is No, they did not report anything about a missile being inbound for the islands.
Her husband was not at home at the time, as he was at work early that day, so she and her small children were alone. She too got the alert via her cell phone, and she was a nervous wreck all that Saturday and the next day as well, thinking that even after they issued the statement that it was a mistake, she then thought that it was some kind of weird joke they were playing on the residents, as if they were not telling the whole story, just to keep people from becoming so crazy with fear, and they didn’t want mayhem throughout the island.
Then yesterday, Tuesday, she saw that there was a tsunami warning, and also wondered if that too was a false alarm or the real thing?
With the beautiful Hawaiian islands being in the flight path, of the things that will surely have a horrible impact on, or maybe destroy these gorgeous islands, as well as our 50th state residents, they will be the 1st to take the hit, so basically, all you have left is to say your prayers, and say them fast !!!
which is exactly what she did, as well as to tell me she loved me.
I feel so bad for her, and all the other residents who had to experience such a terrible false warning, I do understand we are all human, and not perfect, and prone to mistakes now and then, but when it takes 38 minutes to tell the scared and fear filled people, that it is a false alarm, that is just NOT okay.
I am surprised that the hospitals did not experience mayhem with people arriving as heart attack victims and/or also panic attack victims.
I am very glad to hear that the governor has found his password, but now retribution has to take place somehow?.
For the island people to gain the respect of their government in times of an emergency, and not to think of it as “crying wolf” again. Like perhaps, maybe 1 months FREE electricity
{ not to exceed $50.00}or something else of value. {for each household that had to endure the panic of 38 minutes !} that the state can pick up the tab for.
That would be a very nice gesture on the part of the beautiful 50th state, to it’s faithful and great citizens. Kind of a
{we’re sorry- gift”} for the mistake that was their fault. Just saying….
Hopefully, this kind of mistake will never happen again!
Mahalo for your time and your understanding of this matter.
Have a wonderful day,
Sincerely,
Sharon
38 Minutes…. What would you do with 38 minutes if you believed they were quite possibly your last ones on earth? The people on the Hawaiian Islands got to ponder that exact thought today. Below is the text my daughter received this morning on her cell phone, along with a warning alarm… this was NOT a drill… She and her husband were on two different islands, one child with each of them. My daughter scooped up my 3 year old grandson and ran to her sister-in-law’s and got all the kids and adults into an interior room with no windows. My grandson was too young to fully grasp the danger, but the older children did and sheer terror is the only way to describe what they experienced. I am so proud of my daughter for trying to remain calm, distract the kids, and reassure them, even though every fiber of her own being believed it might be the end.
And I AM PISSED!!! My grandchildren’s innocence is being stolen from them in ways we in a supposed civilized nation should not have to experience. Not since the 60’s have kids had to practice “duck and cover” drills in schools. My granddaughter had to in November, 2017. Hawaii is closest to North Korea, should a real missile be launched. And we do believe that it is possible, thanks to twitter wars between Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump. Words matter and irresponsible boasting and threats have gotten us to a place where US Citizens feared for their lives today…. for 38 minutes. That’s 38 minutes too many for my daughter…for my grandchildren…and this grandma is fed up and did I mention… PISSED ….. when will this crap end? Can one person in Trump’s inner circle finally have the guts to take his freakin’ phone away from him? Sh*t just got way too real today…. for our US citizens in Hawaii… who pondered their last moments while Trump was probably enjoying a round of golf at his Florida Mari-Largo Estate. We will hear how it was a human error that caused the notice to go out.. but my daughter believed it, as did everyone else who got it… and we would not have gotten to this point if not for Trump and his infantile braggadocio. Enough. Stop. The. Madness.
So very well said! I felt just like your daughter did. My husband gathered our puppy and as much food, water, meds, bedding, chairs, etc into our interior bathroom and waited. I felt helpless and thiught I may never see him again. Your comments about Trump are spot on. Thanks for explaining it so well.
So Kim Jong-Un appeared to launch a nuke and you blame our President? Maybe we should put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Kim! Why is EVERYTHING Trump’s fault? Get real and look at the real culprit if this was ever to happen. Sure Trump spouts off, but what an improvement from the last 8 years under Obama.
Thresa, why would you politicize this to a national level, and blame Trump for an issue that had nothing to do with him? Blaming someone else for your fears, because you let their “words” affect your feelings is sad.
You should be “PISSED” that your Hawaii’s government wasn’t responsible enough to have a system in place to address the issue immediately, or within a few minutes to confirm “if” it was an actual emergency. Why didn’t Hawaii’s govermmemt have protocols in place, knowing that Trump and Kim Jong were having a war of words? If Hawaii perceived their tweets as a “war of words” as a potential threat, why wouldn’t they have a plan of action? You do realize that you would have been obliterated by any ballistic missile long before that 38 minutes, don’t you? It would only take around half an hour for am intercontinental ballistic missile to hit the US mainland, let alone Hawaii.
I think your anger is severely misplaced. You should be holding your local Government accountable, really.
Amen!
Some knucklehead pushes the wrong button before shift change. Your Governor forgets his Twitter password and you blame Trump! Hey Thresa, I would be looking to elect a new governor or ask the current one to step down so a more proficient one could fill the seat.
We were staying at the Surfrider when we got the “Missile Message”.
At first I thought it could have been a hack or similar.
We checked the local news stations and there was nothing.
We got hilarious advise when I called the front desk they said “No, it’s real. We got the same message. You need to close your blinds and if you see a flash, don’t look at it.”
Fortunately, I then went to twitter and saw a tweet from someone in the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency saying that it was a false alarm….so, we went down to the beach…
YES! we were in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor doing the tour, we were watching the Horrific Movie of what happened that day. THEN the alarm went off this is not a test,then were were told to sit down and be quiet, this is not a test a strong voice said to us and we will let you know when we have more information! My daughter had just romantic got engaged, and was crying Im not even Married yet ? So 35 Minutes we were all bundled in the room Until they came and gave us the all clear, This Im sure with other thousands of people will never forget this day.
“I said LUNCH not LAUNCH you Moke”
I wasn’t in Hawaii, but my son, who is a resident, sent me a text. It was basically to tell me about the warning & that he thought it wasn’t real. The tone of the text was somber. He said I love you mom, I don’t think this is real, but I don’t know. I still get emotional when I think about it.
Yep we were there at Laie and we just keep up enjoying the sun and beach and said to each other – well were are we going to hide when a nuc hits anyway.