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Miyagi has previously said a nuclear strike on Hawaii would result in thousands of deaths, thermal radiation, severe damage to critical infrastructure, widespread fires and other chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hawaii lawmakers have been urging emergency management officials to update Cold War-era plans for coping with a nuclear attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s responsible to do this,\u201d Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said of the tests, though adding the chances of an attack are slim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tests will continue on the first day of every month. If the siren sounds because an attack is imminent, residents and tourists should get inside and stay tuned for further instructions, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hawaii no longer has any nuclear shelters. When the Cold War ended, funding for maintaining them ran out as the threat of attack ended, emergency officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lorraine Godoy, 75, who was born and raised on the Big Island, said she vividly remembers the air raid sirens that used to blast during the Cold War. She said the upcoming tests will bring back memories from her childhood, when she had a curfew and the sirens blared often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very scary. It\u2019s loud. It\u2019s frightening,\u201d Godoy said. \u201cI\u2019m just glad I don\u2019t have any children or grandchildren living here . because it was very scary to hear as a child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the tests are a \u201creminder that this is not a safe world anymore. Even here, in Hawaii, it\u2019s not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tourism officials disagree, saying travelers \u201cshould not be alarmed by the testing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIts implementation is consistent with the state\u2019s longstanding policy to be prepared and informing the public well in advance of any potential threat to Hawaii\u2019s well-being,\u201d George Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some residents and visitors expressed confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure then what we\u2019re supposed to do after the siren happens,\u201d Justine Espiritu of Honolulu. \u201cThat would be useful information. Am I supposed to like find a bomb shelter? Am I supposed to go to the mountains? Should I jump in the ocean? I\u2019m not very sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tourist Bruce Jelsema of Grand Rapids, Michigan, also didn\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot living in Hawaii, I\u2019m not familiar with the different sounds of the test so I would probably be confused as to how to respond,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after North Korea tested its most powerful missile yet, Hawaii is dusting off a relic not heard on the islands since the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,12,26],"tags":[8496],"coauthors":[2748,1140],"class_list":["post-57015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","tag-north-korea"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6PGVT6CK7VEF3FZRTVHDVXSNAQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/01\/siren-will-wail-in-hawaii-test-for-possible-nuclear-attack\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n