THIS WAS A FALSE EMERGENCY ALERT!

The Emergency Alert sent out at 8:08am this morning to Hawaii residents was sent out in error. And while we here in Hawaii paniced, cried, and came damned-near mass-heartaches, our civil defense goons waited 38 minutes to push corrected alert.

Just another day in Hawaii pic.twitter.com/F66crMqBkL — Jemisha (@JemiSHaaaZzz) January 13, 2018

The questions that have come up in its aftermath are astounding.

How does something like this happen? Human error? Hacking? Poor programing? Why was an immediate follow up alert not issued to ease minds and stop panic? 38 MINUTES LATER!!!!!! The shelters proposed around us would do very little in protecting us from a real attack. Where does one go and should we build more substantial shelters? This same question rings loud during every Tsunami and Hurricane threat. We’re told we have 10-15 minutes to get to a shelter once an emergency alert is received. How at risk are we? How close are we to North Korea and can they reach us? Phone lines were overloaded (still are), and we can bet 911 was barraged with calls. How many people needing emergency assistance had delays due to this massive error? Some of us have opted out of these emergency alerts because in the past we’ve been barraged with over 10 similar Flash Flood Warnings in a single night. If this would have been real, they’d be toast! How soon can we overhaul the warning system so that we only get warning applicable to our specific area of residence? How prepared are we for an emergency as far as supplies, distance to shelter? What’s the best way to celebrate today? We’re alive!

“I woke up 20 minutes after the alert to over 10 missed calls. My staff was calling to ask whether or not to bring everyone in from our kayak and canoe tours. We had to decide where to send 15 different groups of people on the water and begged the question, “where does one go for shelter on the west side?” We have a lot of questions to answer.”

Tim Lara – Hawaiian Paddle Sports

HAWAII – THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE TO HAWAII. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH OFFICIALS THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE. pic.twitter.com/DxfTXIDOQs — Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) January 13, 2018 So sorry for all the people in Hawaii who went through that — we know someone who’s there with her family. Crying in closet texting goodbyes to loved ones, husband shielding their baby. Sounds traumatic. Hang in there, folks. — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 13, 2018

Governor David Ige – Statement issued

“While I am thankful this morning’s alert was a false alarm, the public must have confidence in our emergency system. I am working to get to the bottom of this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future.”

“Error” seems a major understatement. This was a massive F’up. We think Dan Rather sums up our feelings best:

I think Hawaii should buy everyone on the islands a drink of their choosing – on the state. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 13, 2018

And on a less serious note, some of our favorite comments:

“I wonder how many babies were just made?”

Joe Wright

“Now I know it take 5 minutes to break into my neighbors underground beer cellar.”

Erik Blair