Hawaiian Local Government's Response to North Korean Nuclear Threat

[Sean McAndrews]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/09/21/hawai...

 

            Fred Barbash from The Washington Post discusses how the state of Hawaii is preparing for a nuclear attack from North Korea. The situation itself is very complex due to the factors of the response time Hawaii has, North Korean capabilities, public response and panic, geography, etc. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency met in August revealing a plan for the event of a nuclear attack. The plan is viewed through the lens of Honolulu being targeted.

            Every day, North Korea becomes closer to developing longer range capabilities for their missiles. At the moment, experts believe that North Korea has capabilities of a missile trajectory of 4,100 miles. This would encompass Alaska and be just shy of Hawaii. If Pyongyang developed capabilities to reach Hawaii and did decide to attack, it would only take 20 minutes for the missile to reach it. Because of this, Hawaii must seriously look at the response to a Nuclear attack. Hawaiian local government has focused both on the pre-event and response to an attack.

            When preparing for an event with the words “Nuclear Attack,” one cannot be careful enough to not initiate a panic. The pre-event response taken by the Emergency Management Office has been one that is not varied much than planning for a hurricane. They have encouraged residents to have a 14-day water and food supply. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency created the slogan, “Get inside, stay inside, stay tuned.”

            In the event of the attack, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency cannot do much once they are notified a nuclear attack is imminent. If North Korea had the capabilities, it would only take 20 minutes from lift off until detonation over Hawaii. Therefore, they cannot get Hawaiians into bomb shelters in time. Their focus has to be on the response. Experts believe that Oahu would be the target of North Korea due to Honolulu, as well as the military presence that is on the island. Based off the memo produced by the agency, the state will receive notification that a missile is on route. Within two minutes, they will notify residents with sirens and an advisory on cell phones, which leaves 13 minutes for residents to get inside.

            The more North Korea builds up capabilities, the more local government emergency management offices are going to have to prepare for a nuclear attack. Cities like Los Angeles, and San Francisco and other cities across the nation are now discussing responses in the event of an attack. What is fortunate to most American cities is that they are connected to the mainland, whereas, Hawaii is isolated. Rapid response from FEMA and similar organizations will not be able to get to the scene as quickly. Hawaii’s execution of their plan is going to be an example for hundreds of other major US cities and their efforts in preserving lives.