Honolulu’s 911 dispatch system was overwhelmed with more than 5,000 telephone calls — “more than they could handle” — in response to this morning’s false alert of a missile attack, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said today, but no injuries or accidents appear to be related to the ensuing panic and confusion.
Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said about 2,500 callers to 911 could not get through and operators will get back to them to ensure there were no actual emergencies.
Caldwell said the only report of damage he heard of occurred “when a guy in a golf cart” damaged his cart following the alert. Two fire trucks were handling medical emergencies when the false alert went out at 8:07 a.m. today, Honolulu Fire Chief Manuel “Manny” Neves said. They then returned to their stations.