The Nuclear Option: the day Hawaii thought it was about to be destroyed
Whether you live in Hawaii or Hanoi, there’s an argument to be madethe human race has been living in a near-constant state of awaiting the apocalypse since the outbreak of World War I. After World War II, this became a very literal preoccupation as humanity had invented the nuclear bomb.
Sure, there have been times when the doomsday clock has ticked further away from midnight than others. However, every time there’s been a period of so-called peace like the 1920s, the ’50s and the ’90s, it’s turned out to be nothing more than a prelude to yet another period of time when people go about their days scanning the skies for telltale signs of bombs.
Thus, the world now settled into the ongoing Mexican stand-off known as the Cold War, and while you can say it ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, it’s more accurate to say that it evolved. Today, we stand closer to midnight than ever before (85 seconds away, according to the Doomsday Clock, if you didn’t want to sleep tonight). Yet, it must be said, we are all experts at going about our business despite the constant possibility that it all could end tomorrow.
Sometimes, though, the reality breaks through, and we are all left to reckon with the horrible truth that our futures are not in our hands, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or the US declaring war on Iran. Our recent history is filled with examples of shit getting incredibly real, but if you thought those were a direct threat to your life, spare a thought for those living in Hawaii on January 13th, 2018. A day when everyone thought that their time was finally up for one specific reason.
Their phone was telling them so.
What happened in Hawaii?
The inciting incident for this stems from another time when the end seemed to be nigh for all of us. In 2017, North Korea started showing the world they did have nuclear weapons and could reach the United States. Under the command of Kim Jong Un, North Korea began testing its weapons for all to see, showing off its might to surrounding countries like South Korea, Japan and, yes, even the United States.
Fast forward to January 13th, 2018. At around 8:10am, everyone in Hawaii’s phone started playing the same alarm, and the same message flashed up on everyone’s screen. “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” A similar message was played on TVs and radio stations across the whole state. The worst imaginable scenario really did seem to be happening for about 40 minutes, and an entire populace began saying their goodbyes to each other.
That is, until the message was replaced with another, which read, “There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False Alarm.” Reports are scarce on the specific nature on what caused such a colossal cock up. Which makes sense, one can imagine it’s a situation that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency would want to resolve extremely internally. However, the blame seems to lie with a worker at that organisation running an unauthorised drill routine and using the words “this is not a drill” while doing so.
A single slip of the tongue and an entire state thought that they were about to die. How very 21st-century…