HONOLULU, United States (AFP) — Hawaii officials swiftly confirmed a cell phone alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile was a “false alarm” Saturday, but not before the ominous message unnerved residents and stirred confusion across the US state.

The emergency alert urging Hawaiians to “seek immediate shelter” came after months of soaring tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, with North Korea saying it has successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to the US volcanic island chain.

“There is NO missile threat to Hawaii,” the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency quickly tweeted, as social media ignited with screenshots of the cell phone emergency warning.

US military spokesman David Benham said US Pacific Command “has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error.”

A corrected message was sent about 40 minutes later indicating that “there is no missile threat or danger to the state of Hawaii.”

The warning — which came across the Emergency Alert System that authorities nationwide use to delivery vital emergency information — read: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

Governor David Ige was to meet with Defense Department senior officials and the state’s EMA to pinpoint why the message, which was also broadcast on some local television stations, was sent.

“While I am thankful this morning’s alert was a false alarm, the public must have confidence in our emergency alert system,” the governor said in a statement.

“I am working to get to the bottom of this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future.”

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii called the mistaken notification “totally inexcusable,” blaming it on “human error.”

“There needs to be tough and quick accountability and a fixed process,” he tweeted.

The Federal Communications Commission said it was launching a “full investigation” into the incident.

Though the alert was quickly deemed false many Hawaii residents heeded the nerve-wracking warning, taking refuge in hallways and basements.

Lauren McGowan, on holiday in Maui with family members and friends, was on her way to breakfast when her phone blared the alert.

She and her family quickly returned to their hotel, where staff ushered them along with some 30 people to a basement cafeteria and distributed water and food.

– ‘Jarring’ –

The alert and rush to shelter caused “confusion,” McGowan said, particularly for the children in the group.

“No one had any idea what was really going on,” the 28-year-old from New York told AFP, explaining they had no cell service underground.

“It was a bit jarring for sure,” she said of the experience.

However, McGowan added, “I’m not going to let it ruin the rest of my vacation” and it’s “definitely good to know that the system works.”

Several golfers participating in the US PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Honolulu also reacted to the alarming episode.

“Under mattresses in the bathtub with my wife, baby and in laws,” American golfer John Peterson tweeted. “Please lord let this bomb threat not be real.”

After news spread that there was no inbound missile fellow golfer Talor Gooch also took to Twitter, writing: “Welp this was quite a ‘mistake’ made by someone. Birdies didn’t seem too important for a few minutes.”

“Let’s make sure this one doesn’t happen again POTUS,” Gooch added.

US President Donald Trump — who in the past has deployed bombastic rhetoric at North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-Un — had yet to react to the warning.

The US leader recently said he would be willing to speak directly with Kim, with whom he has traded sharp words over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests, raising fears of attacks.

Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, blamed Trump for not taking nuclear threats from North Korea seriously.

“We’ve got to achieve peace, not play politics,” she told MSNBC television. “This is literally life and death that is at stake.”

She said that for Hawaiians, Saturday’s episode was “a true realisation that they’ve got 15 minutes to find some form of shelter” in the event of a missile attack, “or they’re going to be dead.”