# 38 - Inbound Ballistic Missile Warning
Early this morning everyone in Hawaii woke up to the following message on the screens of their cell phones:
"EMERGENCY ALERT
BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
Along with this message on our cell phones there was also an audible computer generated voice message on KGMB channel 8 with the same information and instructions on what to do.
At least one of the warning sirens located across the island of Oahu was also activated briefly in the Ewa Beach area which could be heard all the way to the Pearl City area yet sirens in the Pearl City and Aiea areas remained silent.
As you can imagine this message terrified a lot of people, knowing that when this notice is sent out we have approximately 15 minutes notice before the missile impacts Hawaii.
It took the state 38 minutes before they sent out another notification that the message was sent by mistake, so for 38 minutes, or roughly the same amount of time it takes for a ballistic missile to reach us from North Korea, officials from the state said nothing at all to calm the fears of the residents.
According to an official source the mistake was "man-made" and was not a computer glitch or equipment malfunction. Yet, since this is Hawaii, history has shown us that no one will ever be held accountable for causing a widespread panic. Apparently a "wrong button" was pushed during a shift change which was just confirmed by Governor Ige.
I have a few burning questions related to this disaster:
First; How could something like this happen, are there no safe-guards in place to prevent this type of situation?
Second; What is going to be done to insure that this situation never happens again?
Third; Why did it take the state so long to notify the residents that it was a mistake?
Fourth; Why did the fallout shelters reportedly turn people away who were trying to come there for shelter because of the warning?
I know we will never know the answer to this one as it will be covered up, but I wonder how many residents committed suicide because they received the warning message and feared being burned alive in a nuclear detonation? Those deaths would be on the hands of the state and the employee who "accidentally" sent out the ballistic missile warning message.
In a just world heads would roll after an incident like this, but unfortunately, we do not live in a just world.
73
RC
WH6FQE
Previous Episode:
Coming Episodes:
In upcoming episodes we will also take a look at "Water Purification & Sanitization" as well as "Vacuum Sealed vs. Mylar Bagged Food Storage". We will also take a look at the shelf-life of "Home Canned Foods" and the viability of using them in our emergency supplies. We will also have future episodes on Emergency Communications or EmComms.
Also we will have an episode on the need for a Wilderness First Aid training even if you live in a city. We will also take a look at the need for "Sanitation After A Disaster".
