HI-EMA needs total overhaul

A week has passed since the upheaval of an incoming-missile alert that — none too soon — was revealed to have been a false alarm.

The public now has the chilling realization that, even beyond the emotional toll that the episode took on so many terrified Hawaii residents, the ramifications of the false alert could have resulted in actual devastation. North Korea’s nuclear missile threats have the world on edge, residents of the islands more nervous than most. Mistake or not, wars have begun over less provocation.

That is why, even in the relative calm of a more normal weekend, there is still so much unease. Very little has been done to restore the public confidence in the state’s emergency preparedness. Instead, each day seemed to reveal new details of dysfunction.

Primarily what’s been lacking is accountability. Can a failure of this magnitude really happen in this state, without anyone bearing the consequences? And will there be any faith of better performance going forward without a change in leadership at the agency?

Vern Miyagi, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, took responsibility for the error made by the staffer who activated the alert, disseminated through a cellphone network to many thousands, instead of the intended test of the system.

The staffer was reassigned. The public deserves assurance that the ongoing inquiry will result in some serious consequence, whether he retains his job or not.

But above all, there needs to be better direction at HI-EMA, someone at the helm the public can believe has better instincts than Miyagi has shown, with the capacity to anticipate possible problems.

Gov. David Ige has ordered National Guard Brig. Gen. Kenneth Hara to conduct a full investigation, and provide an initial action plan within 30 days. Hara has several avenues to probe, some of them raised in a legislative briefing that on Friday put HI-EMA officials, and the governor himself, up for questions.

The governor left after the first 45 minutes for another commitment. That in itself was distressing to see. One lawmaker wondered aloud, rightly, what could have been more important than this discussion, at this time.

But the team that remained, Miyagi included, fielded questions. State Rep. Matt LoPresti asked what new approaches the agency would be taking. The administrator said greater focus was needed on improving face-to-face community outreach.

Nobody could dismiss the importance of that, and it was fine to hear that the state will be ramping up disaster planning and preparedness work. But neither could they dispute LoPresti’s response: “Well, I’d hoped for a longer list than that.”

There was so much that was missed in the weeks and months leading up to this debacle. There were 26 tests of the system prior to this one, officials told lawmakers. Why had nobody observed the lack of a means to easily cancel an error before the 27th try?

Granted, as Miyagi said, there’s one in place now, and testing the nuclear warning systems, including sirens, is on hold while their lapses are probed.

But it should have been obvious the design, a computer pull-down menu with test and actual alert prompts in close proximity, made an error too likely.

Also, the protocols that officials followed, and the gaps in communication, were deeply unsatisfactory. Ige and other key leaders said they were unable to get through clogged phone lines. That is simply unacceptable. A dedicated line should have been established for the benefit of any civil defense emergency, long before this one.

Further, it’s mind-boggling, in the era of Twitter, why the state’s top officials were apparently unprepared to quickly use the obvious social-media alternative options for communicating.

It also was the job of administration to know, in advance, that federal clearance was not required before the all-clear could go out — one of the reasons cited for the unnecessarily long delay in putting an end to the public anxiety.

And that anxiety persisted through the week, even leading some to purchase guns and other military-style survival provisions.

All of that underscores the critical importance of finding a diplomatic solution to global security tensions with North Korea, rather than saber-rattling and unproductive bellicose rhetoric being exchanged across the Pacific.

If there’s been any good news glimmering through, it’s been the slight thaw in relations between the Koreas. Recent discussions have concerned bringing North Korea into the Winter Olympics in Seoul. The world hopes that peaceful pursuits through athletic competition can lead to an off-ramp from a growing nuclear armaments crisis.

Here at home, though, this disastrously bungled test demands a top-to-bottom overhaul at HI-EMA. Anything less sends the wrong message to the public and voters — who should not, and will not, stand for it.