City analysis would weigh response to missile alert

City Councilman Ernie Martin wants Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell to convene “a false missile alert working group” to assess how the city Department of Emergency Management and other city agencies responded to the Jan. 13 alert issued by mistake by state emergency officials.

The working group should “assess and report on the response of city agencies and the public to the false missile alert incident and the lessons learned therefrom and develop an action plan to improve the county’s response to future such incidents and educate the public and private sectors on procedures to be followed in such (an) event,” according to the language in Resolution 18-27.

Martin wants the working group to begin meeting no later than 30 days after the resolution is adopted and to report its findings to the Council no later than 90 days out.

The resolution will get its first airing at Thursday’s 2:30 p.m. meeting of the Council Health, Safety and Economic Development Committee.

Andrew Pereira, Caldwell’s spokesman, said the mayor’s first tweet announcing a false alarm was sent at 8:25 a.m. Saturday. That was followed by a Honolulu Police Department tweet, via HNL.info, at 8:27 a.m., he said.

Asked to comment on Martin’s resolution, Pereira said Friday that “the mayor is doing everything in his power to make sure that the right systems and processes are in place for a swift response” should there be an actual launch.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency issued its false ballistic missile threat alert via cell phones at 8:07 a.m. It issued a cancellation via Twitter and Facebook at 8:20 a.m.

No message was sent to cell phones about the alert cancellation until 8:45 a.m. The length of time it took for that message to be sent has drawn widespread criticism of Gov. David Ige and state emergency management officials.