HILO — About 100 members of the public attended an informational briefing at the state Capitol on Thursday to learn more about the threat to Hawaii of a North Korea nuclear attack.
The meeting, organized by the Senate’s Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, followed a closed meeting on Tuesday attended by about 15 state lawmakers, including Kona Sen. Josh Green and Naalehu Rep. Richard Creagan.
Hawaii is cancelling testing of warning sirens that had been scheduled to begin in November, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi reportedly said at both meetings.
Miyagi said officials are holding off on the tests until they can figure out a way to avoid confusing the public.
Green told the Tribune-Herald Thursday the state is now looking at a new siren that would be “more specific,” with a “different type of sound meant to be very distinguishable (from) tsunami or hurricane sounds.”
Green said the general tone of the closed meeting “was about preparation.” He said neither meeting was scheduled because of any “imminent risk or concern,” but rather “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We don’t expect they’re going to target Hawaii, and we’re not even sure they have the capacity to accurately target a place like Hawaii,” Green said. “But we still have to be prepared in case. So that was kind of the tone of the conversation.”
Miyagi said a ballistic missile strike by North Korea would leave Hawaii with casualties, severe damage to critical infrastructure, widespread structural fires and other chaos.
He said Hawaii would have less than 20 minutes’ warning after a missile launch.
The informational briefing was part of the state’s ongoing effort to create a preparedness plan for the North Korea threat. Hawaii is the first state in the country to formulate such a plan.
“I feel very confident in our country’s ballistic defense system,” Hilo Sen. Kai Kahele said Thursday.
Kahele didn’t attend the meetings this week but said he’s “very familiar” with the state’s plan and is “very much in tune” with the scenario, given his military background.
“I’m very confident we would be able to defend ourselves from a ballistic missile that was aimed at the state of Hawaii,” he continued. “And I think it’s a low probability North Korea would launch at Hawaii. But that’s not to say our residents shouldn’t be prepared.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.