Around 1.42 million people reside in Hawaii, which is also a popular tourist destination. Pic/Thinkstock

A ballistic missile warning system alert in Hawaii went off erroneously yesterday creating panic among the islanders, even as the officials dubbed it a "false alarm". At around 8:07 am local Hawaii time, an emergency alert was sent to all cell phones in caps. "Ballistic missile threat inbounds to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill."
About 10 minutes later, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted that there was no such threat. "No missile threat to Hawaii," it said. The second emergency alert went out at 8:45 am. "There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False Alarm," it said.