A contractor involved in a project to modernize the outdoor siren warning system inadvertently caused sirens to be activated at dawn today, state Civil Defense said.

No emergency exists, the city Department of Emergency Management said.

The project outfitted eight Oahu sirens with communications modems that allow for remote satellite activation.

The contractor involved with the project inadvertently activated sirens at 5:25 a.m. in parts of Oahu covering  Diamond Head, Kamiloiki, Makiki, McCully, Moanalua Valley and Waimanalo. Protocols are being developed to prevent a recurrence, officials said, calling the incident a “glitch.” 

The sirens were immediately turned off by the Honolulu Police Department’s dispatch center.

“We apologize for any anxiety this early morning sounding caused for area residents,” Doug Mayne, vice director of Hawaii Civil Defense, said in a news release.