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Hawaii alert: False missile alert sparks panic | |
(35 minutes later) | |
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." | |
Hawaii Emergency Management Agency later confirmed there was no threat. | Hawaii Emergency Management Agency later confirmed there was no threat. |
The alert system is in place because of the potential proximity of Hawaii to North Korean missiles. | |
In December, the state tested its nuclear warning siren for the first time since the end of the Cold War. | |
It is still unclear how the initial mistake was made. | |
'Full blown panic' | |
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser says emergency officials mistakenly sent the message out by text, all in capital letters, at 08:07 (18:07 GMT) before correcting the error by email 18 minutes later. | |
There was no follow-up mobile text until 38 minutes after the original alert, it said. | |
In a tweet, the state's Emergency Management Agency (EMA) said simply: "NO missile threat to Hawaii." | |
EMA spokesman Richard Repoza said the agency was trying to determine what had happened, the Associated Press news agency reports. | |
The agency describes reaction in the state as "full-blown panic". | |
Jamie Malapit, owner of a Honolulu hair salon, texted clients to say he was cancelling their appointments and closing his shop for the day, AP reports. | |
He said he had still been in his bed when his phone started ringing "like crazy". | |
Afterwards, he was still "a little freaked out" and feeling paranoid even after hearing it was a false alarm, AP adds. | |
According to the CNBC news channel, the alert "momentarily put recipients into a state of frenzy, with scores reportedly running for shelter". | |
The alert came amid a growing threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear programme. Hawaii is the closest US state to North Korea. | |
In September Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test. | In September Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test. |
Last month, the Star-Advertiser also reported that a missile launched from North Korea could strike Hawaii within 20 minutes of launch | |
Were you sent one of these alerts? Or do you know someone who was sent an alert? Please tell us your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk | |
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