Hawaiians got quite a shock when they received news of an incoming ballistic missile and were assured in the text alert that “this is not a drill.” It wasn’t a drill, but it was a mistake.
Here’s the erroneous alert via Dopl3r:
The authorities confirmed on Saturday that there was no ballistic missile headed toward Hawaii minutes after an emergency alert was sent to cellphones there urging people to seek immediate shelter, leading to chaos and confusion.
“BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII,” the alert said. “SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
A corrected alert was sent out 38 minutes later.
“There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii,” it read. “Repeat. False Alarm.”
Apparently, the erroneous alert was inadvertently sent during a shift change.
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