Floridians in Hawaii recall missile alert scare

HAWAII (FOX 13) - It didn't matter which island you were on, almost everyone in Hawaii with a cell phone received emergency alerts Saturday morning, warning of a pending missile attack.

Floridians vacationing in paradise say they were not prepared for feelings of fear and panic during their holiday.

Sirens blared as a loudspeaker blared a woman’s voice:

"All personnel take shelter immediately, or take appropriate action to shelter in place."

Thinking they only had minutes to prepare for the worst, people in Hawaii braced for the threat of an attack.

Videos posted on social media show children being lowered into manholes for protection.

For most people, the threat of an incoming bomb was a terrifying way to start the day.

Kayla Mortara and Ramsey Martorello recently moved to the big island from Palm Harbor. They told FOX 13 News about those frantic moments.

"We woke up to his dad banging on the door saying there was a missile coming, we needed to leave to go to a bomb shelter," Mortara said.

The engaged couple says the notification was frightening, but they wanted to make sure it was true before panicking.

"I checked my phone, I checked everything that I could,” Martorello said.

Allison Guzman and her friends were on a trip to Oahu from Fort Lauderdale when alerts came. They were in disbelief.

"So much confusion, we didn't know what to believe, we didn't know what was real," Guzman told FOX 13.

It took about 40 minutes, but she says everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they learned the warning was a false alarm.

"I think it's pretty irresponsible, but I guess, you know, people make mistakes, things do happen, I guess the main point is just that everyone's okay and nothing terrible happened," Guzman said.