Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Local couple recounts false missile alert MAUI, HAWAII » Gillian Dorn was
Gillian Dorn of Downingtown said she hopes such an incident ‘does not happen again’
in Hawaii during the false missile crisis, something that she hopes “does not happen again.”
Dorn, of Downingtown, has been in Hawaii with her husband since Jan. 1 because he volunteers every year for the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua. An emergency missile alert was accidently sent to everyone in Hawaii during their trip on Saturday, and it caused a panic as people thought they would die in the pending attack. Officials said that if a missile is launched from North Korea, an alert could give people about 1520 minutes notice.
“It was something I hope does not happen again. What can you
do in 15 minutes anyway?” Dorn asked rhetorically.
Dorn was busy with her laptop and her husband watched a soccer game on TV without sound on Saturday. Two of their friends from Coatesville who are on the trip visiting with them had called Dorn that morning.
“She was in a panic and crying and the first thing she said was, ‘I don’t know what to do. I can’t reach my kids.’ At the very same time I looked up to see a banner going across the TV screen that said ‘This is not a drill. A missile has been detected headed for Hawaii. Seek shelter. Close your windows. Lay on the floor. If you are driving, pull off the road,’” Dorn said. “As I read it, I then understood what was troubling my friend. She and her husband had gotten the alert on their phones a few minutes earlier.”
The emergency alert was sent to cellphones statewide at about 8:10 a.m. and stated: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
The emergency sirens didn’t go off on Saturday, which would have sounded in a real threat, according to officials.
“As I tried to calm her down, I was suspicious that no other TV channels, local or cable news, had warnings on them, nor were the sirens going off,” Dorn said.
She called one of her sons back home in Downingtown and she explained the situation to him. He checked into the matter and called right back to inform his parents it was a “mistake” and that someone let the message go out in error. Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency said the error was caused by an emergency worker “hitting the wrong button” during a routine drill.
“It wasn’t until about 20 minutes later that we started seeing all the TV stations talking about the big mistake that caused chaos in Hawaii,” Dorn said. “One woman spokesperson from the Civil Defense group was astonished as to how it could have happened because she claimed that every time they try to test the system, they use the word ‘test’ over and over to prevent such an error. To say that someone ‘pushed the wrong button’ is not acceptable as an excuse, in my opinion.”
Hawaii started testing its nuclear warning siren system in December 2017 that would alert residents to an impending nuclear missile strike. The false alarm comes after people are in fear about a threat of nuclear-tipped missiles from North Korea. Some wondered how seriously they will take the next alarm, but life seemed to get back to normal that day.
“However, when it was all over, the sun was shining, the trade winds were blowing and people were going about enjoying their lives in this beautiful place,” Dorn said. “Their only concern now was the huge waves on the northern shores that were pounding the beaches and rocks.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.