Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Says Missile Alert Was False Alarm

HONOLULU, HI - DECEMBER 07: Crew members of the USS John C. Stennis stand on deck as the guided missile destroyer USS Halsey performs a Pass-in-Review during a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attac... HONOLULU, HI - DECEMBER 07: Crew members of the USS John C. Stennis stand on deck as the guided missile destroyer USS Halsey performs a Pass-in-Review during a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at Kilo Pier on December 07, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency on Saturday said there is no missile threat to the state, despite an emergency alert that directed residents to seek immediate shelter due to an inbound “ballistic missile threat.”

White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters told reporters that President Donald Trump had “been briefed on the state of Hawaii’s emergency management exercise.”

“This was purely a state exercise,” Walters said.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) tweeted, “I have confirmed with officials there is no incoming missile.”

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said the alert was “a false alarm based on a human error.”

A spokesman for the state’s emergency management agency told BuzzFeed News, “We have absolutely no indication it was any kind of hacking.”

Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) said he is “working to get to the bottom of this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future.”

The National Weather Service in Honolulu released a statement saying that the initial alert was “a test message.”

“The Warning Message received this morning DOES NOT DEPICT A REAL MISSILE THREAT. It was a test message,” the service said.

The initial alert was sent out to mobile devices and broadcast on television.

A second alert to residents read, “There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False alarm.”

This post has been updated.

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