6

More than coincidence.

posted by Sarcastaway on Whatever

As you may have heard, Alaska received a false alarm for a tsunami today, 7am PST.

During the last several months there have been several other false alarms in Japan and the US. These events are not exactly rare, but generally occur a few times per decade, rather than a few times per year.

These recent incidents include an unspecified EAS alert in Guam, a J-Alert for an earthquake in Japan, an incoming missile EAS alert in Hawaii, a J-Alert for a missile in Japan days after the Hawaii alert, and a NWS alert for a tsunami on the east coast of the US

I'm pretty certain that these events go beyond coincidence. Nearly all of these alerts are respectively attributed to the error of a single employee. Am I to believe that human error has gone up something like ten-fold in the last year? Because I'm not buying it.

As you may have heard, Alaska received a [false alarm](https://www.nbcsandiego.com/weather/stories/False-Tsunami-Warning-Jolts-West-Coast-Alaska-482405051.html) for a tsunami today, 7am PST. During the last several months there have been several other false alarms in Japan and the US. These events are not exactly rare, but generally occur a few times per decade, rather than a few times per year. These recent incidents include [an unspecified EAS alert](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/15/guam-radio-stations-accidental-emergency-alert-north-korea-threat) in Guam, a [J-Alert for an earthquake](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42582113) in Japan, an [incoming missile EAS alert](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42677604) in Hawaii, a [J-Alert for a missile in Japan](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/world/asia/japan-hawaii-alert.html) days after the Hawaii alert, and a [NWS alert for a tsunami on the east coast of the US](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/06/national-weather-service-says-tsunami-warning-for-the-east-coast-was-just-a-test) I'm pretty certain that these events go beyond coincidence. Nearly all of these alerts are respectively attributed to the error of a single employee. Am I to believe that human error has gone up something like ten-fold in the last year? Because I'm not buying it.

4 comments

[–] doggone 2 points (+2|-0)

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/05/11/tsunami-warning-that-wasnt-alaska-emergency-authorities-investigate-test-that-went-awry/

"Nothing different happened in this office," he said. "We sent out the same test message we've sent for decades: 'This is a communications test.' We saturate it with 'test.' How that got interpreted as any sort of warning or advisory, I can't say."

It is curious. How and if the test message could get altered. And what's the point? To get people to ignore it?

Also the warning may not be of much use anyway. Maybe with a tsunami, but not much help if a nuke is coming in.

[–] Sarcastaway [OP] 1 points (+1|-0)

It is curious.

Indeed. Reports seem to vary. Both your source, and the NBC San Diego source state that the alert clarified itself as a test only at the end of the two minute message. The BNO News article that drudge is running doesn't even mention that the word "test" made it into the message at all.

not much help if a nuke is coming in.

I'll still take the warning if they can give one. 5-12 minutes is enough for me to hop in my "root cellar" (definitely not a bunker) and get out of the path of the blast. People in the overpressure radius are pretty much boned though.