Head of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency resigns over false missile alert

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The head of the Emergency Management Agency of the Pacific U.S. state of Hawaii has resigned and the warning officer who initiated the false missile alert on Jan. 13 has been fired, officials said Tuesday.

Hawaii emergency management administrator Vern Miyagi "has taken full responsibility and submitted letter of resignation today," state Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Joe Logan, who ordered the investigation, was quoted as saying by a local news outlet, the Star Advertiser.

As a result of the findings, the worker who set off the alert was fired on Friday, a deputy of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency resigned after Jan. 13, and a third employee is being suspended without pay. The fired worker had confused drills for real events at least twice before, once for a fire and once for a tsunami and had been counseled, the Star Advertiser said.

Insufficient management controls, poor computer software design and human factors contributed to the real-world ballistic missile alert and the delayed false correction message on Jan. 13, concluded a probe report, released by Hawaii government Tuesday.

Ige told reporters that he hopes the probe would help to begin to restore the public's trust in the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

It took about 38 minutes for the initial alert to be retracted on Jan. 13. The local authority apologized for the false emergency alert, which had caused panic cross the islands and on social media platforms. Enditem