Key shrugs off Hawaiian missile alert frightener

Former Prime Minister Sir John Key was among people startled by a mobile alert yesterday about an incoming missile threat to Hawaii.

The message, in capitals, was received at 8am Sunday local time and read: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency alert was an error and cancelled nearly 40 minutes after it was issued.

Sir John said the alert did not send him or wife Bronagh into a panic.

“We are on the island of Lanai. We got the alert and, while it was a little disconcerting, it was well handled by the hotel we are staying at.

“A lot of the guests went to the lobby. There was a mixture of some quite panicked people. But for the most part people were calm.”

Other locals and tourists, including Kiwis, believed they had minutes to find shelter.

Kiwi Dee Whitby, in the town of Hilo for an orchid conference, said guests were asked to stay in their room for about 40 minutes.

“There were people crying in the corridors.

“We stayed calm but texted ‘ we love you’ messages to our children just in case.”

At the Waikiki hotel where she had been staying with her girlfriend and family, Natalie Kane made her way down to the lobby after getting the alarm.

She was told that, if it was real, they would have to take cover, although there was nowhere to find it, so she should return to her hotel room and stay away from the windows.

There were children crying, adults “freaking out”, and families running back from the beach to find their loved ones.

Hawaiian Governor David Ige apologised for the “pain and confusion” caused by the false ballistic missile attack alert, and pledged to get to the bottom of how the error came about.