Hawaii panics after false alert of incoming missile

Emergency management officials eventually determined the notification was sent during a shift change and a drill after "the wrong button was pushed" - a mistake that lit up phones across the archipelago with a disturbing alert urging people to "seek immediate shelter."

There were frenzied scenes of people rushing to safety.

The erroneous message came after months of soaring tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, with North Korea saying it has successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to the United States, including the chain of volcanic islands.

"I deeply apologize for the trouble and heartbreak that we caused today," said Vern Miyagi, administrator of Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency. 

"We've spent the last few months trying to get ahead of this whole threat, so that we could provide as much notification and preparation to the public.

"We made a mistake," he acknowledged in a press conference. "We're going to take processes and study this so that this doesn't happen again.

As social media ignited with screenshots of the cell phone emergency warning, with Representative Tulsi  Hawaii's EMA quickly allaying fears.

US military spokesman David Benham later said US Pacific Command "has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error."

The warning, which came across the Emergency Alert System that authorities nationwide use to deliver vital emergency information, read: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

A corrected message indicating that "there is no missile threat or danger to the state of Hawaii" was not dispatched to phones until nearly 40 minutes later.

"I know firsthand that what happened today was totally unacceptable," Governor David Ige said of the alert, which was also broadcast on some local television stations.

"I'm sorry for that pain and confusion that anyone might have experienced."

In explaining the delay, he noted there was no automatic way to cancel the false alarm, so it had to be done manually.