Hawaii lawmakers are going over plans for preparing to cope in the event North Korea launches a nuclear attack on the U.S. state.
According to the Associated Press, representatives from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HEMA) will give a presentation on preparation and planning efforts Thursday.
Hawaii lawmakers have been urging emergency management officials to update Cold War-era plans in the event of an attack and in July, the HEMA announced a public education campaign.
READ MORE: Blaring sirens sound in Japan, Guam readies residents amid North Korea’s missile tests
Agency administrator Vern Miyagi stresses that officials are simply trying to stay ahead of a “very unlikely” scenario, but it’s a possibility that Hawaii can’t ignore.
However, according to a memo obtained by the Honolulu Civil Beat, officials had a closed-door meeting Tuesday “regarding recent regional military threats and the planned responses to such events.”
The memo also noted Thursday’ public briefing at the state Capitol.
North Korea has conducted several missile tests and most recently the secretive regime sent an intermediate-range missile over the northern part of Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, completing the country’s longest test flight of a ballistic missile.
The launch forced the Japanese government to trigger its “J-Alert” warning system, prompting sirens to sound, emergency text messages, and instructions broadcast over loudspeakers telling residents to seek shelter as a result of North Korea’s missile launch.
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READ MORE: Guam tell citizens what to do in event of nuclear attack
Kim Jung Un and his regime have threatened to launch an attack on Guam, sink Japan and reduce the U.S. to “ashes and darkness.”
The threat prompted the Guam Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense to release pamphlets on Facebook informing its citizens on ways to prepare for an “imminent missile threat.”
The two-page information pamphlet includes warnings and advice to the likes of:
-Make a list of potential concrete shelters near your home, workplace and school.
-Do not look at the flash or fireball – It can blind you
-Lie flat on the ground and cover your head. If the explosion is some distance away, it could take 30 seconds or more for the blast wave to hit.
-If you were outside during or after the blast, get clean as soon as possible to remove radioactive material that may have settled on your body.
-Remove your clothing to keep radioactive material from spreading. Removing the outer layer of clothing can remove up to 90 per cent of radioactive material.
-When possible, take a shower with lots of soap and water to help remove radioactive contamination. Do not scrub or scratch the skin.
-Wash your hair with shampoo or soap and water. Do not use conditioner in your hair because it will bind radioactive material to your hair.
In April, government officials in Tokyo admitted that if a missile launch is detected from North Korea, citizens in the targeted area would only get about a 10-minute warning to flee the impact zone.
READ MORE: Japan tells citizens they can only expect 10-minute warning of a North Korea missile attack
In August, Hawaii’s Department of Defense posted a three page FAQ on its website for “Ballistic Missile Preparedness” that includes answers to questions to the likes of “I have heard that planning for a nuclear attack from North Korea is futile given most of the population will be killed or critically injured. Is that true?” and “How long will nuclear radiation persist after a nuclear detonation?”
North Korea’s latest missile travelled about 3,700 kilometres. Honolulu is about 7,400 kilometres from Pyongyang.
–with a file from the Associated Press
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