As sirens blared and cellphones rang out warnings of an incoming missile on Saturday, Victoria’s Cedric Steele helped himself to another cup of coffee at his breakfast meeting in Honolulu.
“The general feeling was more of resignation than concern. There’s nothing we can do. Let’s have another cup of coffee,” said Steele, who retired in 2015 after 18 years as an honorary captain in the Royal Canadian Navy.
“But, what we found interesting is that a few people rushed into the restaurant and said ‘Can we go down to your basement?’ The server said there was no basement. And they said: ‘Oh heck’ and they ran out again.”
Steele said his first instinct was that the alert on his cellphone — “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL” — was a false alarm.
The 73-year-old philanthropist, who has been in a few tight situations before, describes himself as a fatalist and said he wasn’t worried or afraid.
“My feeling was I’ve had a good life and if something’s going to happen there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. I hope my family is safe in Canada,” Steele said.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted there was no threat about 10 minutes after the initial alert, but that didn't reach people who aren't on the social media platform. A revised alert informing of the "false alarm" didn't reach cellphones until about 40 minutes later.
While they waited to find out what was going on, Steele was treated to some interesting comments and suggestions. Someone in the group said if there was explosion he hoped it landed right on top of them.
“Another comment was: ‘I just hope someone in the White House with the big button waits and sees what happens before he hits the big button,’ ” Steele said with a laugh.
After the threat was withdrawn, Steele decided to enjoy the warm Hawaiian day. He played a little tennis, then sat on the beach.
“I think some people who were affected are normally nervous,” he said. “One of the fellows I spoke to at the beach said: ‘My wife immediately called me because she was away. She said please go home and make sure the shutters are closed in case it happens.’ ”
Steele chatted with someone at the tennis club who had been involved in the U.S. nuclear program. The American told him it takes a pretty strong rocket to go to altitude. Then there’s re-entry. The U.S. has a good defence system on its ships locally and NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, probably knows within 10 seconds if a missile is fired, Steele said.
In the end, the false alarm shows the need for people with cool heads and clear minds, he said.
“As I look out at the beach, people are sitting out under the umbrellas, smiling and laughing. Life is just going on.”
— With a file from The Associated Press
