Just after 8 a.m. local time, television viewers saw a crawl appear across the top of their screen warning of a "CIVIL DANGER WARNING" that had been issued for local municipalities.
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"The U.S. Pacific Command has detected a missile threat to Hawaii. A missile may impact on land or sea within minutes. This is not a drill," an accompanying voiceover told viewers.
"If you are indoors, stay indoors. If you are outdoors, seek immediate shelter in a building. Remain indoors well away from windows. If you are driving, pull safely to the side of the road and seek shelter in a building or lay on the floor," the emergency alert continued. "We will announce when the threat has ended. This is not a drill. Take immediate action measures."
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The same emergency message was broadcast over local radio stations.
Approximately 10 minutes after the initial alert went out, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted that there was no threat. The warning was retracted nearly 40 minutes after the initial cell phone alert was sent.
Hawaii emergency officials: Alert of ballistic missile threat was mistake