North Korea’s intelligence on nuclear missles is growing and with Hawaii being the closest US state to this threat, there has been some anxiety over the situation. Having a “ballistic missile threat” warning definitely sent this anxious feeling into deep pits of panic and terror for all Hawaiian citizens.

On January 13th, 8:07 am, anyone in Hawaii with possession of a mobile device received the message shown in the image. For a dreadful 38 minutes citizens were taking shelter, saying goodbye to their loved ones, and preparing themselves for what lies ahead. Another notification, informing the public this was only a false alarm, was sent out and ended the panic induced frenzy.

An employee at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency accidentally pressed the wrong button, which sent out this notification, while switching shifts. The employee who made this error feels terrible and regrets the mistake and any pain it caused deeply. Miyagi, a retired Army major general, informs that the employee will be “counseled and drilled so this never happens again.” Miyagi was interviewed on Fox news and presented more insight on the situation.

Nevertheless the reasons behind the mistakes, the people of Hawaii were forced to go through a stress inducing incident that shouldn’t be so easily caused. Future tests of the system are being held off until officials are sure this will never happen again.