Preparing for an Emergency

Yesterday, I received an Emergency Alert text on my iPhone like thousands of people around the state. "This is not a drill," the text stated. My initial reaction was to go to my son's room (he hasn't yet returned to the mainland) to ask if he got the text as well. (He did.) My husband was at a meeting in Honolulu at the time and called to ask if we got the message. I immediately closed our jalousies (not much protection there), and tried to call my Mom. She doesn't have a cell phone and lives by herself. I couldn't get in touch with her, so I called my older sister to ask if she knew where Mom was. My sister was skeptical and asked questions:  Are you sure it isn't a false alarm? I don't see anything on TV about it. Why aren't the sirens going off? Hmmm . . . good questions. I checked on Facebook and saw that others had posted about the text message they received.

Then it dawned on me that I didn't receive any messages from US Army Garrison Command. Because I work on a military base, I get their messages by email, text, work phone, and on my cell phone. This time, I didn't get anything. When my husband called, he said the message was false though it wasn't confirmed until a few minutes later.

Since then, I've read lots of personal accounts on FB about the incident which turned out to be human error in pressing the wrong button. People are angry; they were frightened, understandably.

I realize that as a senior citizen, I viewed the incident with different lenses from others. After hearing a presentation about what schools should do in case of a North Korea attack, my initial reaction was, "Why would I want to survive something like that?" Of course, as a school leader, my responsibility is to protect those we serve, so we had a discussion and created a contingency plan should something like this happen during school hours.

Many are quick to blame those in charge for this error. We expect government to protect us, but unfortunately, we live on tiny islands in the middle of a huge ocean. We don't have the capacity - yet - to sustain ourselves should there be a threat to our safety from an attack. I think this was a wake-up call to be better-informed and better-prepared should there be an unexpected disaster - natural or otherwise. This human error also exposed chinks in our system that need to be addressed and improved so such a false alarm doesn't happen again.

Frankly, I am proud of our people in Hawaii who, although they felt helpless and terrified, behaved civilly despite the fear and the uncertainty over their own futures - for themselves and those they loved. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when word was received that it was a mistake. Life went on, and if nothing else, this false alarm gave us an opportunity to reflect on what could have been and to be better-informed and better-prepared in the future.

I think we've become a little bit spoiled about instant notifications. In the "old days," such a mistake would not have happened because we would not have the option of receiving these kinds of emergency notifications. Technology is great, but it presents other problems as we saw yesterday.  Many shared their stories about calling those they loved, crying, and praying.

I have confidence that given the opportunity, we can make a difference. As citizens, we should ask tough questions and be part of the solution. Let's work together to ensure that if something happens in the future, we can help and support each other.

Evacuating to the Teen Center
Every month, schools are required to perform emergency drills so we are prepared in case of an actual disaster. Once a year, we conduct an evacuation drill with oversight by the military. We realize the necessity to hold a drill to get everyone into our three safest buildings on campus and evaluate whether we need to make adjustments.