Earlier today, residents of Hawaii received an emergency alert notification claiming a “ballistic missile threat” was “inbound to Hawaii.” Thankfully, it turned out to be a false alarm.
An incoming missile alert plunged residents of Hawaii into panic on Saturday morning before it was declared to be false.
Mobile phone users received a message saying: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”
State Governor David Ige apologised to Hawaiians, saying an employee had pressed the wrong button.
The US government announced there would be a full investigation.
A sense of the panic, terror and horror felt by residents can be gleaned from tweets like the following:
https://twitter.com/JemiSHaaaZzz/status/952268726971363328
This is what residents of southern Israeli communities like Sderot experience on a regular basis. Except the alerts are soon followed by real rockets causing real damage, and no-one outside of Israel seems to bat an eyelid.
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