Human error blamed for ‘regrettable’ false alarm

LOS ANGELES — An emergency text alert on Saturday warning residents in the US state of Hawaii of an imminent ballistic missile threat was a false alarm sent out due to human error, state officials said.

The United States military’s Pacific Command and state authorities confirmed that there was no missile threat.

Governor David Ige said in comments aired on CNN that “I was awakened by the alert like everyone else here in the state of Hawaii. It was unfortunate and regrettable.”

Ige apologized for the incident, saying that someone at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency “pushed the wrong button” during a routine shift change.

Such shift changes occur three times a day every day of the year, he added.

“While I am thankful this morning’s alert was a false alarm, the public must have confidence in our emergency alert system. I am working to get to the bottom of

I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is it. Something bad’s about to happen and I could die’.”

Cherese Carlton, who was in Honolulu for a class and was away from her children this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future.” said Ige in a statement.

The alert, sent to mobile phones and also aired on television and radio, caused panic among Hawaiians and on social media platforms.

Sara Donchey, who said she was in Honolulu, Hawaii, tweeted that her family who were on the North Shore “were hiding in the garage. My mom and sister were crying.”

Wu Qing, a Chinese scholar working in Hawaii, said in a phone interview that she still felt frightened.

“I was still sleeping when I received the message in the morning. Several of my friends also called me or informed me through