- Visitors at the Pearl Harbor memorial were startled Saturday when they received the false alert
- The shocking warning was said to be eerily similar to the one from 76 years ago
- Panic broke out in the auditorium as visitors gathered to reflect on the decades-old Japanese military strike
- Within the hour, emergency personnel confirmed the alert had been sent in error by a management employee
Visitors at the Pearl Harbor memorial were startled Saturday as they watched a documentary video of the 1941 attack when their phones went off during a statewide false alarm.
Early that morning, the accidental emergency missile alert was issued that read: ‘Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.’
Panic broke out in the auditorium while visitors were gathered to reflect on the Japanese military strike from 76 years ago – just weeks after the December 7 anniversary of the attack.
One man inside the auditorium captured a video from the inside, and says visitors were frightened and utterly confused, according to Hawaii News Now.
Panic broke out in the auditorium while visitors were gathered to reflect on the Japanese military strike from 76 years ago
The USS Arizona sinking in a cloud of smoke after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II in Hawaii December 7, 1941
Smoke rises from the burning buildings on Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu Island, after the surprise attack by the Japanese which brought America into World War II
A false ballistic missile threat alert was sent to all cell phones in Hawaii on Saturday morning
Luckily, within the hour, emergency personnel confirmed the alert had been sent in error from one of the management employees.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige issued a statement hours later to apologize about the serious matter.
‘I know firsthand that what happened today is totally unacceptable, and many in our community were deeply affected by this,’ Ige announced in a news conference.
‘I’m sorry for that pain and confusion that anyone might have experienced. I, too, am very angry and disappointed that this happened.’
The false ballistic missile warning sent Hawaii into panic for nearly an hour until emergency officials confirmed it was a false alarm
Several residents were forced to take precautionary measures and shelter in the meantime
According to Hawaii News Now, dispatchers answered roughly ‘3,000 calls before the alert was canceled,’ Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said of the shock.
Residents were forced to temporarily take shelter while flights were delayed and traffic stalled.
‘It’s totally unacceptable… there was anxiety across the state and it was terrifying. There was a lot of unnecessary pain and anxiety,’ said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.
‘It’s important to have accountability at the state level and the emergency management level in terms of what exactly what went wrong.’
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by Civil Beat, cars drive past a highway sign that says ‘MISSILE ALERT ERROR THERE IS NO THREAT’ on the H-1 Freeway in Honolulu