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Hawaii-type false alarm unlikely in Pennsylvania, PEMA chief says

Aaron Aupperlee
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AFP/Getty Images
A morning view of the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, on Jan. 13, 2018.
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AFP/Getty Images
This photo illustration screenshot taken by the photographer of his cell phone shows messages of emergency alerts on January 13, 2018 of Honolulu, Hawaii. Social media ignited on January 13, 2018 after apparent screenshots of cell phone emergency alerts warning of a 'ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii' began circulating, which US officials quickly dismissed as 'false.''Hawaii - this is a false alarm,' wrote Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard on Twitter. 'I have confirmed with officials there is no incoming missile.' The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency also confirmed there is 'NO missile threat to Hawaii.' US military spokesman David Benham said the US Pacific Command 'has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error,' adding that the US state would 'send out a correction message as soon as possible.' / AFP PHOTO / Eugene TannerEUGENE TANNER/AFP/Getty Images

The false alarm of a ballistic missile that sent Hawaii into a frenzy likely wouldn't happen in Pennsylvania, the head of the state's Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday.

PEMA Director Richard Flinn said state officials exercise extreme caution before sending emergency alerts to people's cellphones, double-checking and sometimes triple-checking information before hitting the button.

"There are enough checks and balances that the risk is low that a false message would come out," Flinn told the Tribune-Review.

Flinn said a supervisor at PEMA checks the validity of every message before it is sent out. In some cases, other agencies, such as PennDOT or the Turnpike Commission, also verify the information.

On Saturday, an employee at Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency sent an alert to cellphones across the state that a ballistic missile was on its way and to seek shelter immediately.

"This is not a drill," the alert stated.

Hawaiian officials first said someone pushed the wrong button, triggering the alert. Officials later released a screenshot of a drop-down menu showing several alert options, including one labeled "DRILL - PACOM (CDW) - STATE ONLY," which should have been selected, and another labeled "PACOM (CDW) - STATE ONLY," which was erroneously selected.

A "BMD False Alarm" option was added to prevent future panics.

The employee who sent the false alarm was given a different job inside the agency.

On Tuesday, a similar incident occurred in Japan, where the nation's public broadcaster mistakenly sent an alert warning citizens of a North Korean missile launch and urging them to seek immediate shelter. The information was corrected minutes later.

Flinn said he and his staff reviewed what happened in Hawaii and went over Pennsylvania's policies and procedures to make sure such a mistake could not happen here.

"One of the things we are very cognizant of is the 'cry wolf' syndrome," Flinn said, underscoring the importance of being right with each alert. "Our goal is to warn people to take action when something is happening."

Flinn said the state tests its Emergency Alert System weekly by running the standard "This is only a test" screen on televisions. It does not use actual threat scenarios in its tests.

The state's Wireless Emergency Alert system, which can send alerts directly to cellphones and was used in Hawaii, is not tested, Flinn said.

The Wireless Emergency Alert system is most often used by the National Weather Service to send out warnings about severe and life-threatening weather and by police to spread Amber Alerts about abducted children.

Flinn said the state frequently uses the wireless system to send alerts to motorists about crashes and incidents on major roadways that create backups of two or more hours. The state sent an alert at 4 a.m. Tuesday to cellphones near a crash on I-80 in Clarion County.

Flinn said the state started using the system to alert motorists after a major winter storm two years ago that stranded people on the turnpike for hours.

The Wireless Emergency Alerts system went online nationally in 2012. It is a collaboration between the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and wireless carriers who volunteer to participate.

Alerts from national, state and local authorities, public safety officials and emergency management agencies are sent through FEMA to wireless carriers like Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, which then push them out to mobile phones. The alerts go to every participating cellphone in a designated geographic area regardless of the phone number.

According to the FCC and FEMA, the notifications can only be alerts issued by the president, alerts involving extreme weather or other threats to safety or life and Amber Alerts.

Cellphone users don't need to sign up for the alerts. The alerts don't cost users anything. Users can disable all alerts except those issued by the president.

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at aaupperlee@tribweb.com, 412-336-8448 or via Twitter @tinynotebook.