A mistake gone bad

There are no perfect solutions to solving a problem. There are only possibilities to make it better.

On January 13, 2018, a false ballistic missile alert was issued via the Emergency Alert System and Commercial Mobile Alert System over television, radio, and cellphones in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The alert stated that there was an incoming ballistic missile threat to Hawaii, advised residents to seek shelter, and concluded “This is not a drill”.

The message was sent at 8:07 a.m. local time. A second message, sent 38 minutes later, described the first as a “false alarm”.

State officials blamed a button pushed in error during an employee shift change at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency for the first message.

This erroneous alert caused panic and disruptions.