38 minutes elapse between Hawaii missile alert and false alarm announcement

Nearly 40 minutes elapsed Saturday between an emergency alert warning Hawaii residents about an incoming ballistic missile and a second alert saying that it was a false alarm.

Individuals posted screenshots to social media showing that 38 minutes passed between the initial alert that sent Hawaii residents scrambling and the subsequent one correcting it. 

It took almost 40 minutes to correct the false alarm in Hawaii https://t.co/fsUpvbLvXy pic.twitter.com/VPFr91g3cL

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 13, 2018

Coda. (Gonna go charge my phone.) pic.twitter.com/1CAZcOwuUi

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 13, 2018

Hawaii lawmakers have started calling for officials to be held accountable for the errant alert, which sparked confusion on the islands.

{mosads}

One of the first to alert residents that the initial message was a false alarm was Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D), who tweeted that she had confirmed with officials that it was false. 

The initial alert warned residents of Hawaii to “seek shelter” amid an incoming ballistic threat, while the second alert said that “there is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii.”

HAWAII – THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE TO HAWAII. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH OFFICIALS THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE. pic.twitter.com/DxfTXIDOQs

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) January 13, 2018

“The people of Hawaii just got a taste of the stark reality of what we face here of a potential nuclear strike on Hawaii,” Gabbard said in an interview shortly afterwards on CNN.

“This is a real threat facing Hawaii,” she said.