Honolulu police training exercise led to false emergency warning sirens on Oahu, Maui
A Honolulu police training exercise “mistakenly activated” emergency warning sirens at 5:05 p.m. today on Oahu and Maui.
The sirens were heard mostly on Oahu from Kailua, Kakaako and Waikiki to as far as Ewa Beach. Mayor Kirk Caldwell said in a 5:45 p.m. tweet today that one siren on Maui possibly sounded.
The City and County of Honolulu sent out a message at 5:14 p.m. that a false emergency warning activation had occurred, followed by messages from Twitter by various agencies.
A message from the city read: “City’s Department of Emergency Management is aware of a siren or sirens sounding in the #Kakaako area at about 5:10 p.m. this evening and is investigating. THERE IS NO REASON TO BE ALARMED.
A tweet from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency came at 5:19 p.m.: “Mistaken siren sounding by Honolulu Police Department. NO EMERGENCY at this time.”
The Honolulu Police Department did not post an update on social media regarding the incident as of 6 p.m.
The city's @Oahu_DEM is aware of a siren sounding in the Kakaako area at about 510pm this evening and is investigating. THERE IS NO REASON TO BE ALARMED. REPEAT… NO CAUSE FOR ALARM.
— Kirk Caldwell (@MayorKirkHNL) September 19, 2019
Mistaken siren sounding by Honolulu Police Department. NO EMERGENCY at this time.
— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) September 19, 2019
***NO TSUNAMI THREAT*** We have received phone calls about sirens going off across Oahu, but we have confirmed with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center that there is NO TSUNAMI THREAT. #hiwx #tsunami
— NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) September 19, 2019