Local families detail moments of terror after false missile alarm in Hawaii

SEATTLE — People across the country and here in Washington State got calls from loved ones in Hawaii saying goodbyes, believing a missile would hit in minutes.

“It’s like we’re one big family here,” said Gail Stringer, owner of The Hawaii General Store in Wallingford, which has been bringing a small slice of the Aloha State to Seattle for 20 years.

On Saturday, people on the islands, got a message saying, “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”

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The false alarm caused panic across the peaceful state which reverberated across the U.S.

“Everybody thought they were going to die. It’s crazy,” Stringer said.

Terry Uemura works at the Hawaii store. He messaged his sister in Hawaii, but first reached his sister in Utah.

“She said if we don’t get ahold of her, they’re with mom and dad in heaven,” Uemura said. “Everything on the news is talking about missiles and things like that and so that’s in the back of everybody’s minds. So something like this happening is very, very scary.”

Several members of the KIRO 7 team also have family in Hawaii.

Editor Mike Lozensky’s brother lives in Kuai. Saturday morning, Lozensky got a frantic call from their mom.

“She’s crying and she said he just said, ‘I love you,’ and I said, Just be calm.' I didn’t know what was going on,” Lozensky said.

Lozensky says for too long, he believed a nuclear missile was headed to Hawaii.

“Probably for 10 minutes,” Lozensky said. “It seemed like an eternity.”

His family believed they were under threat for even longer.

Officials eventually canceled the alert with another emergency message, siting human error.

At the Hawaii store, they’re trying to focus the positive.

“Maybe it’s a great wake up call. You’ve got to figure out, what do you do?” Stringer said.

She says she's been forced to have a frank conversation with her kids.

“If it hits downtown Seattle, aloha. We don’t need to worry, because we’re pow,” she said.

The false alarm does have people appreciating life a little extra.

“I think all you can do is gather together with the rest of you family and be with your loved ones. I think that’s the best thing to do,” Uemura said.

Hawaii's governor has told the state to hold off on message tests until the situation is fully investigated.

Cox Media Group