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Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

nytimes.com

11–20 of 409 posts

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#11
post #2

I woke up to this this morning on the island of Oahu. People running around on the street freaking out and police / fire engine sirens going off. Everyone cheered when the “False alarm” SMS came through across the phones. Secure your networks people - this electronic psyops stuff is real.

Why are people running around in the streets freaking out when they are told to seek cover because there is an incoming missile?

Nobody teaches anyone about cover during a nuclear strike anymore. In fact, the concept is frequently mocked as cynical Cold War era propaganda.

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#12
Well, it will be interesting if any researchers look into people's actual behavior within the first few minutes of the notification before the 'false alarm, never mind' message went out to see how effective this was as an emergency alert, even if unplanned.

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#13
post #2

I woke up to this this morning on the island of Oahu. People running around on the street freaking out and police / fire engine sirens going off. Everyone cheered when the “False alarm” SMS came through across the phones. Secure your networks people - this electronic psyops stuff is real.

Why are people running around in the streets freaking out when they are told to seek cover because there is an incoming missile?

Probably because they don't know where to take cover.

Depending on how much time I have, if I had to take cover, I'd either load up supplies in the car and head to the 3rd underground floor of my office parking garage (but away from the vent stacks in 2 corners of the garage), or if I have less time, I'll jump the fence at the apartment complex next door and hide out in their one floor underground garage.

I live in a wood-framed house, so it's going to provide less protection than an underground garage, though still better than running around the streets.

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#14
Doesn't everyone know that the best defense against such an attack is: "duck and cover"? Further, the desks of school children could be used as shelter/cover since everyone knows that these desks are made of the most powerful adamantium/vibranium alloy.

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#15
post #7
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s not much of a consensus on “cover”, hence people seek insight on the concept from law enforcement officials. Is it cover when you’re inside but 30 floors up in a high rise?

That is actually reasonably well-established - check out this: http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58cc34b9112f7043268... Not common knowledge, though, in part because nuclear hazards have been painted in an exaggerated light by Hollywood (basically, no point in trying to survive, because everybody is going to die and what's going to be left is a 1,000-year lethal nuclear wasteland), and in part because we stopp…

Thank you for this. Any idea if the videos are easily viewable?

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#17
post #2

I woke up to this this morning on the island of Oahu. People running around on the street freaking out and police / fire engine sirens going off. Everyone cheered when the “False alarm” SMS came through across the phones. Secure your networks people - this electronic psyops stuff is real.

What part of the island were you on? Out in Hawaii Kai no sirens sounded so it was a collective “meh, probably a mistake.”

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people running around in the streets freaking out when they are told to seek cover because there is an incoming missile?

Probably because they don't know where to take cover. Depending on how much time I have, if I had to take cover, I'd either load up supplies in the car and head to the 3rd underground floor of my office parking garage (but away from the vent stacks in 2 corners of the garage), or if I have less time, I'll jump the fence at the apartment complex next door and hide out in their one floor underground garage. I live in a…

Business insider says 37 minutes from North Korea to Honolulu. I imagine it’s only a few seconds difference between the various Hawaiian islands. However, you don’t really know how quickly the alert goes out. Do you estimate you’ll have more than 10 minutes notice?

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#19
post #8

Pro tip: if you are conducting a drill, refrain from using the words "THIS IS NOT A DRILL".

Now that they've already said that, next time they have to add "WE REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME".

"THIS IS FOR REALZ PINKY SWEAR NOT A DRILL"

Re: Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say

#20
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people running around in the streets freaking out when they are told to seek cover because there is an incoming missile?

Nobody teaches anyone about cover during a nuclear strike anymore. In fact, the concept is frequently mocked as cynical Cold War era propaganda.

The mocking isn't unjustifiable though. I mean the turtle/duck and cover is quite pointless, at least in the case of a nuclear strike (unless you're maybe on the far edge of it, in which case a ditch might save you..and that's big might).

In the documentary "Iraq: The Untold Story", the creator shows civilian air raid shelters in Baghdad. They were four stories down, with the upper floors all reinforced concrete. Yet there were powerless against US bunker busting bombs, and the hundreds of civilians in the shelters that were hit all died.

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