Your Views for January 16

Apology for false alert

On Saturday, Hawaii’s residents and visitors experienced an unfortunate situation that has never happened before and will never happen again — a false alert issued by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency that a ballistic missile was on its way to the Hawaiian Islands.

On behalf of the state of Hawaii, I deeply apologize for this false alert that created stress, anxiety and fear of a crisis in our residents and guests.

I can personally assure each and every resident and visitor that steps have already been taken by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to ensure that a situation of this type never happens again.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is committed to protecting the people of Hawaii, and during the past year it has been taking responsible measures to prepare for the highly unlikely event of a missile attack.

As a state government, we must learn from this unfortunate error and continue to prepare for any safety threat to Hawaii’s residents and visitors — whether it is a man-made threat or a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tsunami.

In the next few days, I will continue meeting with our emergency preparedness team and personally talking with families, individuals and leaders from around our state to ensure we reach every household. We must also do what we can to demand peace and a de-escalation of tensions with North Korea.

Again, on behalf of the state of Hawaii, I apologize for Saturday’s events and any hardship and inconvenience this created for you, your family and loved ones.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige