Ballistic missile warning sent in error by Hawaii authorities

Hawaii must have spent about $350 million for the system.

Japanese system, one section sense missile in sky. Another section shoot up wrapper. Then the wrapper reaches missile, together drop into nearest sea. After action over,,,,, third part notice game over. NK haven't got slightest idea why its missile couldn't go across Japan. After missile vanish, Japan revealed Guam it is OK and then CNN announce.

Hawaii has a cellphone alerting system. The detection of missiles is the responsibility of the United States Strategic Command and Northern Command. And it was the military that was the first to declare this a false alarm. My first thought that what happened at the state level was a hack or psyops, but who knows ? Maybe they really don't have passwords, codes or multiple prompts that only a few top level administrators can access.

Imagine if this happened in a different state e.g. Maryland, District of Columbia? It would have been WWIII. Need to fire incompetent government employees.

Japan's missile detection system detect missile frying in the sky, Japan explained when Tottori prefecture people complained after they crawled under desks.

Some corporation made good money in this fake warning system.

Hawaii must have spent a lot in this system. There are Aegis PAC 3 are installed in each prefecture in Japan. The system to cover large area, right now Hokkaidō only.

At least the President doesn't press the wrong buttons. Image the bad press covfefe if he did.

Damn my bad! Sorry wrong button!!!

Well it's definitely better than the other way around. A missile actually does come in, and the guy pushes the wrong button so nobody knows about it until it's too late.

They can play it up slightly by saying that at least they know the system works and message gets out.

Seems USA has inferior missile dettectioon system.

Toshiko,

Actually there was no missile launched at all. Nothing to detect.

When I started getting calls this morning from family members who were out and about and had just received the warning on their cell phones, my first thought was that this was a technical error. There was no confirmation from civil defence and no warning sirens were sounded. Hawaii civil defence has been including nuclear attack warnings in their monthly system checks and siren tests for a while now as well as a concerted public education and awareness program. With South Korea, Japan and the US keeping a close eye on that part of the world, as soon as there was even an indication of a launch the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency would go into high gear and it wouldn't rely on twitter and verizon to get the word out. It just didn't add up.

None the less, a lot of people got pretty rattled. Right after the warnings went out on the cell phones my wife and son were hitting up Wally's World to stock up on chicken feed and they called me to report that the store was being evacuated. People just left their shopping carts in the aisles and started running out.

 How can an emergency broadcast system not have backups and multiple redundancies to prevent false alarms like this?

Don't know, but earthquake alerts have gone out by mistake when testing the system here, as well.

Am I the only person who finds it slightly incredible that all this as caused by "someone pushing the wrong button"? How can an emergency broadcast system not have backups and multiple redundancies to prevent false alarms like this? Is this the first time anyone actually ever thought of such a possibility?

This missile stuff, including this silly warning is just a sales tactic for multi-billion dollar missile defence "systems" which are nothing more than tin cans stapled together with thousand dollar screws.

Tell that to Putin - Russia makes such missile defense systems too

Thank God Trump was away on his golf cart at the time. This is how wars start.

The FCC is an institution. They're in charge of making the alert system's rules and regulations - obviously they didn't make it fool-proof enough. Always have to expect humans to make errors - hope for the best, but plan for the worst

They have to design it so that no one human error can gum up the system. Like the launching of nukes need more than 1 person to do it

(Now, if this later turns out to be errors made by more than 1 human............)

A state-level screw up. Hawaii is run by democrats. 

Sounds about right.

Brings back memories of when I was a child at school.

"Duck and Cover"-

N K has been a sliding why it's latest missile fell down in sea near Hokkaido. I am suspicious Japan secretly established Nuclear technology related industry. AEGIS ASHOREPAC3 has been working well against NK missile shooting near Japan. Seems USA has inferior missile dettectioon system.

I was ripped off by a couple of condo rental shysters in HI I sent they address to Marshal Kim.

Tex: Another Astute observation with no basis in reality. Yee-Haw in Hee-Haw! Fire your six-shooters in the air, Texas is here. Don't mess with Texas.

Can the US just give Texas back to Mexico?

sheesh. I tend to double-check things that are kinda important.

Japan's does not have Aegis Ashore, they want it but it will take years to come online.

They ordered 2 but they 1st have to build buildings in sites to house it aka fixed locations.

Now why did the button not have a flip cover? Or how about a system check button that does everything except send the actual message.

Bad Design.

Maybe Hhawaii has different system. New large area protection system in Japan is called AEGIS ASHOREPAC3. Maybe USA need to visit Japan how systems are installed?

Perhaps the annoyance and anger over this "fake alarm" is counterbalanced by the relief that it was not a real one. Still, the employee who "pushed the wrong button" should be transferred to different job. To be fair I know Japan has had these kind of problems as well.

So that probably sucked.

Japan has smaller system in each prefecture and The latest that notify large area in several large region. Unlike this Hawaiian installation, systems in Japan were installed in underground cave and people don't touch. Remember articles on JT? When missile on the air is detected, guided cooome out and it direct missile into nearest sea. Hokkaidoo was last place missile fell into sea.

The "false alarm" notification went out on twitter within about 20 minutes, but over 38 minutes to cancel it on the cell phone alert system. We should not be relying on twitter for national security information.  

Someone has some explaining to do.

This is how a nuclear war with North Korea could start. Trump needs to be removed from office because he is incapable of dialing down the rhetoric. He goads North Korea and others, and he cannot control himself. He is not fit to be in the White House, and he could easily launch a missile in a fit of anger or insanity. I can't believe I have to write this, but we need someone who is sane, intelligent, educated, and emotionally in-control in the White House. And we need it now.