LIHUE — The feds say Hawaii has made strides in strengthening its emergency alert system, but urges more training after the Jan. 13 incoming missile alert that sent Hawaii scurrying for cover.
A report issued Tuesday from the Federal Communications Commission pointed to “human error and inadequate safeguards” as the contributors to that false alert, which as sent to cellphones statewide at 8:07 a.m. and wasn’t canceled until 38 minutes later.
Through the 27 pages, it presents the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau’s recommendations to the state of Hawaii and analyzes the measures the state has already taken, like the recent review of its overall preparedness published in the Hawaii Preparedness Report.
The Bureau recommended the state work with federal and county agencies to strengthen emergency management.
The FCC also recommended that government workers avoid using the phrase “this is not a drill” during practice sending emergency notices.
A Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee sent the alert to cellphones and broadcasters during an exercise. He thought it was a real emergency but other workers understood it was an exercise. The report said a supervisor played a recorded script that included the phrase “this is not a drill” and that deviated from procedure. The recording blended wording from a standard drill and phrases from a message that would be sent to broadcasters during a real attack.
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka said after reading the report and the many factors that contributed to the false missile alert, one thing is clear: the next step is on the state’s shoulders.
“It is now incumbent upon the Legislature to help rebuild trust in HI-EMA and the FCC among the people of Hawaii,” he said. “The people of Hawaii require that the state and federal governments work in unison to ensure this never happens again.”
The report addresses the distress undergone by those with disabilities, and Tokioka said he received a firsthand account of the difficulties of navigating the situation from a constituent who is deaf.
“In response to this and other incidents, I introduced a resolution that would urge the state and federal governments to update their television alert system so that the text scroll would always contain the same information as the audio message,” he said.
The state has made steps to strengthen their emergency response and notification system, according to the report and to Cindy McMillan, spokeswoman for Gov. David Ige.
“We took immediate steps to improve the state’s notification system and have implemented changes to prevent another error,” she said. “We have a new HIEMA leader in place, and the state is developing a clearer strategic plan to ensure that all residents receive emergency notifications in a timely manner and can trust the system that is built to protect our community.”
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said: “Although KEMA is not the agency that is responsible for sending out ballistic missile alerts, the events of January 13 provided compelling motivation for everyone, from federal, state and county government agencies, to the private sector and the communities and individuals we serve, to re-evaluate and improve their emergency preparedness and response efforts.
“Hazards awareness and emergency preparedness start at the individual and family level. Each individual, together with all levels of government, and our private sector and community-based partners, collectively make up Kauai’s “whole-community” team and the spirit of our approach to emergency management.”
KEMA Manager Elton Ushio said: “Here at KEMA, we used this as an opportunity to increase awareness and promote whole-community preparedness via all-hazards outreach and education efforts. We’ve provided preparedness presentations to many organizations and communities around the island, reaching hundreds of residents, added information to our website and we partnered with the Mayor’s office, Kaua’i Police Department, Hawaii Department of Health, and Hoike to produce a public service announcement on how the community can be better prepared for various emergencies.”
According to the report, Hawaii’s Emergency Management Administration has suspended State Warning Point ballistic missile drills in response to the false missile alert.
The state is also requiring that future drills be overseen by at least one supervisor.
“If either the daytime shift supervisor or midnight shift supervisor had been required to oversee the January 13, 2018, drill from the State Warning Point, such closer oversight over the drill’s procedures could potentially have prevented miscommunications and ensured superior quality control over the drill,” the report says.
A two-person activation/verification rule for tests and actual missile launch notifications was instated, templates were created for messages that can be used to correct a false alarm, and a new HI-EMA administration was appointed March 16 “to guide the agency and enhance the public trust.”
The Bureau’s recommendations include conducting more regular internal tests of the system, requiring more credentials for jobs like message content validation, software upgrades, and language changes in text messages.
The agency also recommends developing standard operating procedures for using social media as a means of communication and responding to false alerts.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
