Top official resigns, worker fired after Hawaii false missile alert

The head of Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency has resigned and the employee who issued a false missile alert to the state earlier this month has been fired, officials announced Tuesday.

Vern Miyagi, the agency’s administrator, resigned effective Tuesday, State Adjutant General Joe Logan said at a news conference alongside Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D).

Bruce Oliveira, the state’s lead investigator on the incident, said the employee responsible for issuing the false alert had confused exercises for actual events in the past. According to Oliveira, the employee became confused after realizing that he had issued the false alert and a colleague had to take over his responsibilities.

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The state’s findings echo a preliminary report from the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday that revealed the employee had issued the false alert after a miscommunication during an exercise.

Logan said during the news conference that another employee has also resigned and one more is in the process of being suspended without pay, though he did not identify those workers.

The Jan. 13 false alarm caused widespread panic across the state as thousands of residents were falsely led to believe that a ballistic missile was headed to the Hawaiian Islands.

Updated at 4:54 p.m.