I got the I oression that the go button was pushed by accident. I still say…hard for me to believe there was ONLY one go button…and no prompt…making sure this was what the button pusher wanted to do.
I got the Imoression that the go button was pushed by accident. I still say…hard for me to believe there was ONLY one go button…and no prompt…making sure this was what the button pusher wanted to do.
Or perhaps someone thought that s/he was sending a limited distribution test message instead of a live message to everyone.
Read On the Beach by Nevil Shute. The basic plot is that a nuclear bomb has exploded in the Northern Hemisphere and everyone there is dead. Because of wind currents, folks in the Southern Hemisphere know when the nuclear cloud will be coming to them, so they know how much time they have. The book details different things people do, knowing that death is imminent. I read it in high school and re-read it a couple of years ago.
What I’ve read it was a shift change and was supposed to be a standard test and not for distribution as it was. It was NOT supposed to say it was NOT a test. They will fix procedures before they ever do another test.
I’ve seen speculation that Hawaii will experience a surge in births in exactly 9 months. I find that levity refreshing, which is not always my reaction at times last ke this.
What if there were a real missile and the guy put the wrong button?
I read a detailed account that they were supposed to run a test. They pick whether to run a test or the real thing from a pulldown menu. The options are right next to each other. It isn’t the first test the department has run. But… the person picked the wrong menu choice. Clicked on the wrong one. It wasn’t totally clear to me if they knew immediately or not that they’d clicked on the wrong choice. I’d say that the IT person who coded that and the business person who okayed that design should be in hot water. And maybe whoever has defined the test procedure – if you have something set up like that, maybe you want two sets of eyes on it when the person clicks? Sigh. My project manager spidey senses are very unhappy with this implementation!
The reason for the 38 minute delay in negating the alert was because they had to load something into the system. ???
I don’t think they had a backup plan or procedure if they hit the wrong one. Like… no immediate way to immediately distribute a new message to that entire distribution list.
I’m imagining no one realizing the mistake for a few minutes. Then someone calls them. Then a panicked call to the help desk… and waiting in the queue. Then someone has to page the programmer, who is in the shower (it is 8 am). Then the programmer is finally on the line, and logs on and figures out how to distribute a new message. All takes 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, people who figured out it happened are on the phone trying to get tv and radio and politicians to issue statements saying it is false. But those receiving calls aren’t super sure that THIS call isn’t a hoax (heck, maybe didn’t even get the notice and are trying to catch up on that before deciding what to do). Oh, and someone realizes they better tell the Pentagon and WH – so they start scrambling up the ladder a call at a time to get it communicated there (because telling THEM it is false is probably more important than notifying the population, honestly).
I’m pretty sure that was the worst day at work of their lives for some of the people who were supposed to do the test and their supervisors.
The programmer was probably solidly asleep at 8 am!
I certainly would have taken it seriously, and taken precautions. Why would someone not do so? Maybe not panic, but certainly collect your loved ones and take cover. You have a nut job who has recently threatened Hawaii, so it wouldn’t actually be completely unexpected.
And I don’t think it’s a conspiracy theory, but just a mistake. An awful mistake.
I guess we have had false alarms for many other things—tsunamis, bomb threats, floods, hurricanes, and viruses on phones. I just didn’t believe it—probably too sleepy on a Saturday morning.
I figured more would have been done to alert everyone if it were true—sirens, alerts to ALL phones (mine didn’t get one). The news wasn’t exploding with messages about the missle so I figured it was an error.
We were home and didn’t really have a plan. I always thought if we were struck by a nuclear missle, that would be the end. We have no concrete, no cellar or basement and I figure the nuclear radiation can easily get thru our wooden house and open carport. Where are we supposed to go, hide, shelter? I was home with H.
Where would anyone reading this thread go for shelter from a nuclear weapon? I’m very curious and can’t think of anything nearby that would provide much protection at all.
How would you keep the air in the shelter from becoming contaminated by nuclear fallout while still keeping everyone adequately oxygenated?
Put as much concrete, brick, and soil between you and the blast as possible. In general, inside is better than outside. More walls are better than fewer. If I couldn’t get into the basement apartment of my building, I’d probably go into the first floor Interior bathroom with no windows. Take the earthquake go bags with me. I have a couple emergency radios, one cranks if the extra batteries run out. In 24-48 hours, the radiation starts to dissipate and it may be possible to evacuate.
^ There are places to go. See section Seeking Shelter at the bottom of this page.
https://thepreppingguide.com/gas-masks-you-need-in-a-nuclear-attack/
I suppose we can sit the worst out in our wine cellar… and then drink ourselves to death.
Remember “fallout shelter” signs on buildings? I though that would be so twentieth century. 
The question remains, how do folks get clean, sufficient oxygen to breathe while sheltering in a windowless underground room with the A/C shut off? I’m serious—this doesn’t make sense to me.
I suspect those of us with respiratory conditions may have great difficulty tolerating breathing through a gas mask if we can’t tolerate br a thing through the simpler and easier to breathe with N-95 masks.
I live in the suburbs. There are no basements, cellars, or similar made of concrete or similar near me. There are a few condos with parking garages made of concrete but I’d expect them to be crowded with their own residents. The garages are mostly above ground and most do not have any basement—never explored as they are private property. Those garages are not sealed from the elements and it would take a lot to make them so.
I guess the good thing is we don’t live “near” any military target but “near” is pretty relative and the fallout will likely hit most of our small state anyway. Accuracy by NKorea is supposed to be questionable as well.
I guess to me, since I really can’t see any way to protect myself I don’t see the point of fretting about this. Actually, I think there would be more danger if folks all try to rush into private property of others in a panic. That could lead to injuries and worse, imho.
This is just an anime movie, just a stupid cartoon, but I cried for several days after watching it… watch it, folks.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-grave-of-the-fireflies-1988
To me the lesson is to be sure we “say enough, love enough, show we care enough,” in our time on earth, in case it’s shorter than we hope. I will work on that rather than acquiring a gas mask and other items I consider of dubious real value.