Hawaii False Alert: Worker Fired, EMA Head Resigns

The Hawaii emergency management services worker who sent a false alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile this month had a long history of poor performance and sent the warning because he thought the state faced an actual threat, officials said on Tuesday, reports The NYTimes.

The mistake, which touched off panic and confusion across Hawaii on Jan. 13, occurred when the worker misinterpreted testing instructions from a supervisor, according to the Federal Communications Commission and state officials in Hawaii.

Believing the instructions were for a real emergency, the worker, who has not been identified, sent the live alert to the cellphones of all Hawaii residents and visitors to the state.

State officials had previously described the episode as an accident. Shortly after it happened, Gov. David Ige blamed the false warning on a state employee who had “pressed the wrong button.”

The Federal Communications Commission and Hawaiian officials have both been investigating the event. The commission investigation, which is continuing, revealed a series of missteps that led to the false alert, including major gaps in Hawaii’s protocol for handling public safety alerts.

The state report was more critical of the employee, who it said had been fired. The investigation found that he had been a “source of concern” for 10 years and had twice before confused drills with real-world events.

In a related development, Vern T. Miyagi, the administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, resigned on Tuesday.