Hawaii Missle Mishap

On January 13, an emergency alert was sent to phones, tv screens, and billboards. It stated that there was a ballistic missile threat that was inbound to Hawaii. Hawaii broke out in a state emergency. The people of Hawaii were in the state of dread and fright. Families were scared and tried hide their panic from their children; some even sent out pictures and videos to people outside of the island. As the people of the island scattered to seek shelter, some hid in manholes and even locked themselves in their own homes, hanging on for dear life. It took officials 38 minutes to fix this horrible mistake.

What caused the commotion was human error by an unidentified worker who worked for Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency. It was reported that the worker pressed the wrong button which sent out the emergency alert. Moments later, officials sent out false alarms via social media and another emergency alert stating that the previous alert had no threat towards the Hawaiian islands. The head of the company then stated that they had the worker resigned.

People were overwhelmed and scared for their lives. One resident of Hawaii, Jamie Malapit, owner of a Honolulu hair salon told the Associated Press and he stated "I woke up and saw missile warning and thought 'no way.' I thought 'No, this is not happening today.”

A relative from a student at Del Lago that lives in Hawaii said “ Well I saw the alert during school and they had us hide under our desks during class.” He then goes on to say, “I was confused and scared because I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

He then responds to the question of what was going through his mind when he first got the alert: “Well I wanted to see my family and friends. I just wanted to be with them and I felt like I would never get to be with them again. I felt like life can be very short. It could have just ended right then and there but there’s no going back. Life since then has been even better because I know that I am alive and I am able to tell people my experience. With my family i’m just thankful I get to see everyone.” He also mentioned that he was not thinking about sending a photo or video to his loved ones but he did send text messages to them.

To all of those affected by this alert, Del Lago will stand by you to support you every step of the way.