Hawaii’s mistaken missile alert did us all a service last week. It was a sharp reminder that we can prepare for bad things to happen – even the worst imaginable things. And the basic preparations are surprisingly easy, cheap and effective. Can we learn some lessons from Hawaii?
On Saturday morning, a state employee at Hawaii’s emergency alert center mistakenly broadcast a live missile warning to cell phones all over the state. The broadcast included the words, “This is not a drill.” We know now that the employee had clicked the wrong option, to make it an external warning instead of an internal test of the system.
Investigations and Remediations
Hawaii is taking steps to ensure this can’t happen again. The two-step process the employee conducted now requires two people. The software interface is being redesigned to ensure the options cannot easily be confused. The offending employee has been transferred to another position.
There are serious investigations under way to ensure we know every detail of how it happened. Federal officials already have notified the state that they must have a system for follow-up messages. Ajit Pai, the FCC Chairman, launched an immediate probe into the incident.
Part of the problem was that Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA) has no broadcast authority to issue clarifying messages over the same network. They only could issue the warning, not retract the original message. The first government official to issue a cancellation of the warning was Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, but her tweets could not compete with the EMA’s access to every cell phone.
Varied Reactions
Hawaii residents reacted in varying ways. Most followed the directions to take cover in strong buildings, away from windows or glass doors to avoid injury from shattered glass. Some took shelter in storm drains, expecting the concrete and surrounding earth to shield them. This was unwise: a major catastrophe would almost certainly have caused flooding.
Unfortunately, the reaction of a few residents was political. They blamed President Trump. Sadly, the divisions in our society have become so great that some Americans consider Trump’s refusal to continue a policy of appeasement an act of aggression.
But even a nuclear payload doesn’t mean that our only option is to prepare for inescapable death.
Others prayed, called love ones and said goodbye, and otherwise made peace with a probable death. One man just kept playing golf, doing what he loved until the end. Nearly everyone assumed that an incoming missile would bear a nuclear payload.
But even a nuclear payload doesn’t mean that our only option is to prepare for inescapable death. Jason Jones loaded his minor children into the family van, along with some supplies, and drove away. They headed for a rallying point that the whole family had agreed on, on the other side of the island.
The Daily Caller reports, “Jones was prepared: he grabbed a go bag and his Glock nine-millimeter handgun, packed his family into the minivan, and took off for the Waianae mountain range. He ignored the speed limits. The goal: put the mountain range in between his family and Pearl Harbor, which he thought could be a target.” By the time the Jones family reached the mountains, the alert had been called off, and it had turned into an unexpected family outing.
Our Lessons from Hawaii: Be Prepared
While government officials conduct investigations and go through their ‘lessons learned’ exercises, all Americans should learn lessons from the Jones family. They were prepared and they acted immediately on the emergency plan. Had there been an actual nuclear attack, they would have survived it, and been among those who were able to help others survive in the aftermath.
The steps are simple.
The steps are simple. Stay inside, in a basement if possible. (Not many of us can put a mountain range between us and the explosion in under 30 minutes). Put as much solid wall between your refuge and the outside as possible, and take steps to eliminate your exposure to flying glass.
Have enough food and water to last 3 or 4 days. That’s about ten gallons per person, for consumption and washing. It’s easy enough to store a couple of jerry cans of water in the basement. The Coast Guard makes emergency rations that provide calories and nutrition in a moist biscuit designed to minimize thirst. They come in a sealed ‘brick’ containing a three day supply; one per person is sufficient.
“Jones was prepared: he grabbed a go bag and his Glock nine-millimeter handgun, packed his family into the minivan, and took off for the Waianae mountain range….”
Other items include duct tape and plastic wrap for sealing out dust that will carry radioactive fallout, a manual can opener, an emergency radio that operates on batteries or hand crank. A full list is provided here. It is not necessary to go full Mad Max to be prepared, whether we are preparing for a North Korean nuclear attack; extreme weather events; or extended power, communications, and internet failures.
This is not a return to Duck and Cover, just an admonition that we all should be able to answer the following questions.
Where would you go (either inside or away from your home)? Whom would you call? What would you take? What will you eat and drink? And what will you do without the internet?
