Hawaii prepares for North Korean missile attack
HONOLULU Hawaii has become the first US state to prepare the public for the possibility of a ballistic missile strike from North Korea.
The state’s Emergency Management Agency yesterday announced a public education campaign about what to do.
Hawaiian lawmakers have been urging emergency management officials to update Cold Warera plans for coping with a nuclear attack, as North Korea develops nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that can reach the islands.
Starting in November, Hawaii will begin monthly tests of an ‘‘attack warning’’ siren the state hasn’t heard since the end of the Cold War in the 1980s.
It will be tested on the first working day of each month, after a test of an ‘‘attention alert’’ siren with which residents are already familiar.
Information brochures, along with TV, radio and internet REUTERS announcements, will help to educate the public about the new siren sound and provide preparedness guidance.
‘‘If they’re not educated, they could actually be frightened by it,’’ agency executive director Toby Clairmont said of needing several months to introduce the new siren.
Because it would take a missile 15 to 20 minutes to arrive, the instructions to the public are simple: ‘‘Get inside, stay inside and stay tuned,’’ said Vern Miyagi, agency administrator. ‘‘You will not have time to pick up your family and go to a shelter and all that kind of stuff ... It has to be automatic.’’
He said the agency was simply trying to stay ahead of a ‘‘very unlikely’’ scenario, but it was a possibility that Hawaii could not ignore.
Hawaii is an important strategic outpost for the US military. The island of Oahu is home to the US Pacific Command, the mili- tary’s headquarters for the AsiaPacific region. It also hosts dozens of US Navy ships at Pearl Harbor, and is a key base for the air force, army and Marine Corps.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority supported preparing for disasters, but was concerned that misinformation about bracing for a North Korean attack could deter travellers from visiting the islands, spokeswoman Charlene Chan said.
Hawaii residents, who already face hazards including tsunami and hurricanes, are familiar with disaster preparedness.
Hawaiian officials surveyed 28 other US states and cities about what they were doing to deal with the North Korean threat. ‘‘They think it’s too soon,’’ Clairmont said. AP