# False "incoming missile alert" sent to Hawaii residents **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 13, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557 "2018-01-13T18:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/1 "2018-01-13T18:51:00Z")
It’s breaking news and a developing story, but such a message was sent to Hawaii residents via text message and Twitter, adding that it was not a drill. It’s the middle of the night in Hawaii, which probably lessened the collateral damage, but I’m sure there’s a lot of panic going on over there right now. Any Hawaiian Dopers wish to comment? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/2 "2018-01-13T19:02:19Z")
Haha! The wife and I were blissfully unaware here in Waikiki and did not learn about it until after the fact. We did notice some consternation among the neighbors, but I was sitting here typing away on the Board, and nothing came over my phone. The message did come over the wife’s phone, but she was busy and did not see it, and there was no piercing sound like happens with flood alerts and such. We knew nothing at all until it was all over! If you hear on the news, like I already have, that the message came over every single phone in Hawaii, that is simply not true. Nothing on mine. Come to think of it, I never get the flood or other alerts either. The Powers That Be want me dead. Here is the original message on the wife’s phone. It was in all caps as re-created here: **Emergency Alert** BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Then a full 38 minutes later: **Emergency Alert** There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False alarm. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/3 "2018-01-13T19:02:44Z")
It took 38 minutes to issue an “all clear”. :eek: > **[Hawaii missile alert: False alarm sparks panic in US state](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42677604)** > > An employee pressed the wrong button, triggering the alert, the state governor says. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/4 "2018-01-13T19:04:57Z")
Well shit. Now no one is going to believe the real one. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/5 "2018-01-13T19:07:24Z")
This reminds me of when I was working at _The Nation_ newspaper in Bangkok. The Thai king’s sister was seriously ill, and everyone knew her death was imminent. Whoever was in charge of preparing the website announcement for when it actually happened was tinkering with and testing it, when he somehow sent it online live. !!! Fortunately this was around midnight or 1am, and the guy realized his mistake within minutes. I don’t know if anyone saw it, but we sure heard about it. The newspaper could have been shut down over that. Hell, executives could have faced jail time. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/6 "2018-01-13T19:08:44Z")
Just think, if it had been real, you guys could have marked the time of the strike based on the time of my last post. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/7 "2018-01-13T19:10:27Z")
Again, they keep saying on the news that every single phone in Hawaii got that message, and it’s just not true. Again, nothing on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/8 "2018-01-13T19:17:49Z")
CNN is interviewing by phone all sorts of people here in Hawaii who sound like they’ve been deeply traumatized. I dunno. Everyone in our neighborhood is having a good laugh about it. I think it’s maybe because we all realize we’ll all just kiss our asses goodbye anyway in case of the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/9 "2018-01-13T19:20:47Z")
Correct us if we’re wrong, Sam, but I’m pretty sure early afternoon in the eastern US doesn’t translate to “middle of the night” in Hawaii, as the OP said. It’s a long way to Hawaii, but it’s not exactly the other side of the world, right? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/10 "2018-01-13T19:27:28Z")
Correct, this time of year Hawaii time is five hours behind EST. (We never change our clocks.) The alert was about an hour ago, which made it about 8:25am. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/11 "2018-01-13T19:28:04Z")
Also, apparently (according to CNN) Trump was on the golf course when this all went down. Kinda crazy to think the only thing between us and Trump impulsively launching nuclear Armageddon in response to a false alarm is the fact that he takes so much time off his real job to golf. I mean, thank God for that, but … We are now the official laughing stock of the world. Good job with that MAGA stuff, Donald. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/12 "2018-01-13T19:29:36Z")
It took 38min. To correct. WTF?? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/13 "2018-01-13T19:31:56Z")
Make America Goofy Again. The wife now thinks she did hear a sound from her phone at the time but ignored it. That was back in the bedroom, so I didn’t hear it at all since I’m in the living room. I wonder why I never get emergency alerts on my phone, but the wife does. It’s the same account, and her line is an adjunct to mine, which is the main line on the account. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/14 "2018-01-13T19:32:37Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Correct us if we’re wrong, Sam, but I’m pretty sure early afternoon in the eastern US doesn’t translate to “middle of the night” in Hawaii, as the OP said. It’s a long way to Hawaii, but it’s not exactly the other side of the world, right? I came here to update that. I thought Hawaii was 8 hours behind me in Central time; it’s actually 5 hours. My bad. So, is this going to be another “War of the Worlds” thing? Anyway, it’s not like much of anything could be done if it was real. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/15 "2018-01-13T19:32:53Z")
\*\*RELAX. EVERYTHING IS FINE. MINOR RADIATION LEAK. ROLL UP WIND0WS. MELTDOWN. FLEE CITY. CORE EXPLOSION. REPENT SINS.\*\* allcapsbuster ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/16 "2018-01-13T19:32:56Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > It took 38min. To correct. WTF?? Yeah, the neighbors seemed to be a little rattled at the time, but we just thought it was normal family drama stuff and minded our own business. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/17 "2018-01-13T19:35:10Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I came here to update that. I thought Hawaii was 8 hours behind me in Central time; it’s actually 5 hours. My bad. > > So, is this going to be another “War of the Worlds” thing? Anyway, it’s not like much of anything could be done if it was real. ☹ No, this time of year Hawaii is only four (4) hours behind Central Time. Again, we never change our clocks, so when you change them again in a couple of months, THEN we will be five hours behind Central time. _Right now_, we are 4 hours behind. It is 9:36am right now as I type this. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/18 "2018-01-13T19:35:34Z")
By the way, isn’t the Emergency Alert System supposed to give instructions on what to do, as well as provide a telephone number to contact for further information? Or did the system just say, “Incoming Missiles, You’re All Fucked, Have a Nice Day!” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/19 "2018-01-13T19:38:59Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > By the way, isn’t the Emergency Alert System supposed to give instructions on what to do, as well as provide a telephone number to contact for further information? > > Or did the system just say, “Incoming Missiles, You’re All Fucked, Have a Nice Day!” The system said EXACTLY what I showed in my post No. 2 above, no more and no less. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/20 "2018-01-13T19:47:17Z")
The main thing I’m pissed off about is this has now pushed President Chump’s “shithole countries” controversy completely out of the news. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557.md?page=2)