What Went Wrong With Hawaii's False Emergency Alert
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HAWAII (CBSMiami/CNN) -- An employee "pushed the wrong button" accidentally sending out an emergency missile alert to everyone in Hawaii over the weekend.
How did it happen? Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency provided a bit more detail on what went wrong Saturday.
The mishap took place during a routine drill run after a shift change, Vern Miyagi, the agency's administrator, said.
"It's embarrassing, but, again, it's a mistake," said Miyagi to CBS News's David Begnaud. "I know the individual. This was an accident. Not intentional at all."
During the drill, an officer in the emergency operation center mistakenly selected an incorrect "template," which shows what message is going to be sent, Miyagi said.
The template that the officer inadvertently selected was prepared to send the message to the public. The officer was supposed to have chosen a template that would only be sent internally.
After the template is selected, Miyagi said, a note appears on the computer, asking the officer to confirm that they want to send the message.
The officer responsible accidentally clicked yes, Miyagi said. At that point, the message -- "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL" -- was sent to Hawaii residents and vacationers. It also went out to televisions and radios.
At the time, there was no template that allowed the EMA to promptly send a follow-up message informing recipients that the alert had been a false alarm.
That's now been changed, Miyagi said. A false alarm template has been created, and a manager on duty will also have to give an affirmative confirmation before the message is sent, both during tests and in the event of a real threat.
The officer responsible for the mistake has been disciplined and reassigned, Miyagi told CNN, but not fired.
On Saturday, it took the agency 38 minutes to send a second alert confirming the message was a false alarm. In the interim, US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and the EMA sent out tweets telling Hawaiians there was no imminent missile threat to the state.
"It is an epic failure of leadership," said Gabbard.
The initial alert sent terrified people scrambling for shelter, believing they were about to die.
Officials' initial explanation was an employee had "pushed the wrong button."
"I know firsthand that what happened today was totally unacceptable," Gov. David Ige said Saturday, "and many in our community was deeply affected by this. And I'm sorry for that pain and confusion that anyone might have experienced."
In December, the state started monthly testing of its nuclear warning siren system, which is aimed at alerting residents to an impending nuclear missile strike.
The state Emergency Management Agency said Monday those tests will be suspended while it investigates.
Hawaii began the tests in response to escalating tensions between the US and North Korea, which could hit the islands with a missile within 20 minutes of a launch.
In the aftermath, people across Hawaii were confronted with the question, 'What would I do if this was the real thing?"
"It's a wakeup call to say, "Hey wait a minute, I don't know what to do." Our opportunity right now is to reach out and get that information to the people," Miyagi said to Begnaud.
(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
