KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii and North Korea are separated by nearly 5,000 miles of ocean, but in some ways the growing nuclear threat posed by the largely isolated and contentious nation feels closer than ever to Hawaii’s shores.
Hawaii’s government has reflected that sentiment in its actions. The state made known Friday its intent to educate the public on preparedness procedures in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack. Hawaii is first state in the union to enact such a campaign.
An early component of the strategy came Monday in the first of what are to be recurring installments of “Capitol Connection,” a series of Facebook Live videos set to be aired and archived on Gov. David Ige’s Facebook page, which will cover a range of topics extending beyond threat preparedness.
Ige was joined Monday by Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi for the initial broadcast. Both were quick to iterate that educational measures concerning North Korea are precautionary, not a sign of an imminent threat.
“An attack from North Korea is very unlikely at this point,” Ige said.
North Korea has administered 10 missile tests this year, the most recent an intercontinental ballistic missile test on July 4, which the country’s dictator Kim Jong Un described as a “gift” to “American bastards.”
Several national publications published reports last week that American intelligence officials expect an 11th test to commence at some point in the coming weeks.
“(North Korea has) been testing and testing and testing, and although the chances of this happening is remote … we just need to get ahead of it and answer the question: What is Hawaii doing?” Miyagi said. “And what we’re doing is just informing the public, making them understand what to expect and what to do. That’s all we’re doing. The threat is low. Hawaii is safe.”
Ige recently asked the agency for an assessment of emergency preparedness, which he explained in Monday’s video had not been updated to include a nuclear threat.
A primary aspect of that update is the re-implementation of alert sirens decommissioned since the end of the Cold War. The sirens will blare out an “attack alert tone,” which Miyagi said has a wavering quality to help people delineate between it and the siren sounded in the event of an impending natural disaster, like a hurricane.
During the interactive Facebook broadcast Monday, Ige and Miyagi were asked why tests of the tone wouldn’t be administered until November. The answer is so people know what to expect and when to expect it in the hopes of avoiding needless public confusion and fear.
“We are preparing the sirens and making sure everyone understands there will be a change so that you can differentiate what the potential threat would be,” Ige said.
Such was part of the purpose of Monday’s video, as well as the purpose of printed brochures and educational messages communicated through traditional media, which will offer information about both the siren sounds and what to do after hearing them.
Beyond getting inside and staying inside in the 15-20 minutes the warning system might provide before an impending strike, most of Ige and Miyagi’s preparation advice mirrored the government’s suggestions to prepare for a hurricane.
They said one gallon of water per person per day should be kept on hand, as well as up to two weeks of nonperishable food stocks. The video also recommended the purchase of a battery-operated radio to remain apprised of any situation that may occur.
Facebook user Wendy Osher asked about plans on neighbor islands as opposed to Oahu, where U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) is located.
“Right now … we’re looking at Oahu has the primary (impact) area. Of course, this makes assumptions because at this point in time we have no idea what North Korea’s targeting capabilities are,” Miyagi said. “For the neighbor islands, we are working directly with county Civil Defense administrators, so all of the neighbor islands’ concerns will be considered within our current operation plans.”
Ige and Miyagi also stressed community resilience via the Hawaii Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program, or the building of resources and connectivity within individual communities as another line of defense and preparedness.
Interested parties may visit http://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/resources/hharp/ for more information on HHARP.
Finally, Facebook viewers inquired heavily about the capabilities of missile defense systems, like the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD), to protect the islands from a nuclear threat.
That question was not addressed in the video, though THAAD was tested over Alaska earlier this month with successful results.
Admiral Harry Harris, commander of PACOM, suggested to Congress in April that more missile interceptors “that defend Hawaii directly” be installed in the state.