Mubasher: Hawaiians were advised to seek immediate shelter after a human error resulted in a message of incoming ballistic missile to be sent on the island, as reported on Sunday by The National.

Hawaii residents received emergency notices lighting up their mobile phones about a “ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii”, and the warning clarified that “this is not a drill” but an extreme alert, The National added.

“An audio warning was played on local television and radio stations. Those who saw the messages took them as genuine, with one journalist on holiday in Hawaii tweeting that people sought shelter and were crying,” according to The National.

People ran the streets in search of shelter and what appeared to be a number of people descending into the sewer via a manhole.

Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the state’s emergency management agency, and the National Weather Service were among the first to confirm that the alerts had been sent by mistake.

About 38 minutes later, authorities reversed their warning with a second alert announcing no missile threat or danger, and false alarm.

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s (HEMA) spokesman told Buzzfeed that they suspect a technical issue occurred, saying: "We have absolutely no indication it was any kind of hacking."

The Federal Communications Commission said it was launching a full investigation into this false wireless emergency alert, the chairman of the commission said.

“Hawaii's governor David Ige told CNN that human error was responsible for the alert being sent out,” The National added.