The Federal Communications Commission is adopting a new rule to boost the reliability of emergency alerts after Hawaii mistakenly sent warnings to cellphones and broadcasters that a ballistic missile was heading for the state in January.

The commission said in a statement Thursday it will require broadcasters and other participants in the nation’s Emergency Alert System to notify the FCC when they discover they have transmitted a false alert.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said this will help the commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency identify and solve problems with the alert system.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the notifications will help officials learn from mistakes.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said good progress is being made to fix the alert system but more needs to be done.

Underwater lava flow creates new, oozing ‘island’

A small “island” has formed a few yards offshore from where the fissure 8 lava flow is entering the ocean off Puna. The formation, first spotted Thursday, has been oozing lava, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

“Basically, we think that lava flowing into the sea advanced along the offshore seafloor, which is relatively shallow close to the coast in that area … ,” said HVO geologist Janet Babb. “As it pushed seaward and began to inflate, the inflated part of the flow rose above sea level some distance from the coast, forming a mass of rock isolated from the shoreline.”

The formation is roughly 20 to 30 feet in diameter. Babb said there is no way to predict whether the “island” will erode from wave action or connect with lava from the ocean entry to form a peninsula. Babb said it also could continue to grow, “although it’s unlikely that it will get a lot bigger.”

Approximately 655 acres of new land have been added to Hawaii island since the current Kilauea eruption began May 3.