The computer menu design behind the accidental missile alert that caused chaos across Hawaii has been revealed.
The photo released by the Honolulu Civil Beat late Monday shows at least ten links placed close together in a column.
The emergency operator intended to click on the ‘DRILL – PACOM (CDW) -STATE ONLY’ link, but instead, clicked on the ‘PACOM (CDW) – STATE ONLY’ link, which was placed just two lines above.
The mistake led to the faulty alert which was sent to cellphones around the state, warning of an incoming missile attack last weekend.
In this photo from the Governor’s Office/State of Hawaii, the screen that set off the ballistic missile alert is shown. The operator clicked the PACOM (CDW) State Only link instead of the drill link
Gov. David Ige has announced his plans to appoint a state Army National Guard official to oversee a review of Hawaii’s emergency management process.
Ige appointed state Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Kenneth Hara on Monday and said he will provide a report in two months.
Some changes have already been made, including requiring two people to approve emergency alerts.
Officials said a state employee clicked the wrong link and activated a real alert instead of an internal test. There was no system for retracting the false alarm.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday the agency will work with states to follow proper protocols when issuing safety alerts and can quickly retract incorrect alerts like Hawaii’s warning of a ballistic missile over the weekend.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige and Maj. Gen. Joe Logan were on hand for a press conference at Civil Defense at Diamond Head Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, following the false alarm issued of a missile launch on Hawaii.
Brigadier General Kenneth S. Hara was appointed by Ige to oversee a review of Hawaii’s emergency management process
In this Jan. 13, 2018 file photo, Diamond Head, an extinct volcanic crater, and high-rises are seen in Honolulu
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said it’s clear that human error initiated the false alert.
But she worries that system failures allowed it to go uncorrected for too long, nearly 40 minutes.
‘This had the potential for being totally catastrophic,’ Hirono said.
Nielsen told a Senate panel the department had been unaware that Hawaii officials did not have a mechanism in place to address false alarms and retract them.
She also said the Department of Homeland Security is examining how the U.S. government can quickly verify the accuracy of alerts with agencies such as the Department of Defense.
Hawaii officials said they had to wait for approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send the missile alert retraction.
He also said that he had requested the ability to test the mobile alert system, but that the effort had been ‘blocked nationwide.’
The smartphone screen capture shows the retraction of a false incoming ballistic missile emergency alert sent from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency
Cars drive past a highway sign that says ‘MISSILE ALERT ERROR THERE IS NO THREAT’ on the H-1 Freeway in Honolulu following the false alarm last weekend