The agency changed protocols to require that two people send an alert and made it easier to cancel a false alarm — a process that took nearly 40 minutes. There were no major emergencies during the false alarm, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. Authorities were criticized for not sending an alert to mobile phones when fires ripped through Northern California in October, killing 40 people. Lisa Foxen, a social worker and mother of two young children in east Honolulu, said she expects Hawaii officials to make necessary changes and restore trust in the system. “They’re completely inept at protecting the people of this country and notifying them of what’s happening.”The mistake was not the first for the state’s warning system.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 15, 2018 01:18 UTC