Hawaii Resumes Procedure Not Seen Since Cold War

You can thank Kim Jong Un
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2017 10:30 AM CST
Hawaii to Begin Monthly Nuke Alarm Tests
This July 4, 2017, file photo shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile in North Korea.   (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

"If anybody told me four or five months ago we would be doing this, I would have said you are crazy." And yet the administrator for Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency says the state will resume testing Cold War-era nuclear attack sirens warning residents to "get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned" in response to the increased threat of an attack by North Korea. Vern Miyagi says tests of the sirens (listen here) will join pre-existing tests of a steady siren tone beginning Friday and continuing on the first business day of each month, report USA Today and the Washington Post. Residents of the islands—who can learn more from public service announcements and community meetings—are also advised to store provisions that will last two weeks in case of a nuclear attack or natural disaster.

Miyagi says it's important to plan for every possibility, even one that would give residents a 15-minute warning of a nuclear attack. Some residents tell ABC News the siren could help them get to safety, while others say they would be sitting ducks regardless. Either way, the siren "makes this threat even more real," as one woman puts it. Though North Korean officials have referred to an attack on the US as "inevitable," Miyagi has attempted to calm fears by stressing that an attack remains unlikely. But he's competing with reports that North Korea has continued to conduct missile engine and fuel tests in the aftermath of its last missile test on Sept. 15, per the New York Times. Radio signals detected by Japan could also indicate a missile launch is being planned, reports Reuters. (More Hawaii stories.)

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