CASSOPOLIS — With the hostile rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korea increasing, and, with the Asian nation’s despot showing no signs of slowing down his country’s nuclear warhead development, a growing number of Americans are anxious about the possibility of a foreign attack on domestic soil.

Those fears were only intensified this past weekend, when residents and visitors in Hawaii received an ominous message on their mobile devices Saturday morning that read: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

For the next 38 minutes, people in the state were left confused and panicked, as they attempted to find emergency shelter and learn more about what was happening. In the midst of the pandemonium, parents placed their children in storm drains to protect them, while others sped down roads attempting to get as much distance between them and the rest of civilization as possible.

As it turned out, the warning was a false herald. According to Hawaii officials, an employee of the state’s emergency management agency had selected the wrong option from the computerized alert system during a scheduled drill, which led to the false message being broadcast to phones across the state.

Could such an error also happen in Cass County?

According to Emergency Manager David Smith, it is not very likely, at least if local officials have anything to do with it.

For the past several years, the county has used an Emergency Alert System that, in the event of an incoming foreign or terrorist attack, severe chemical spill or other emergency situation, sends an alert to local TV and radio stations, which will then broadcast the alert to residents throughout the area.

“We do tests on the system every week, like they do in Hawaii, that go out to local broadcasters,” Smith said. “The messages say, ‘This is a test message.’ There is no danger that these test messages will go out to the public, and if they do, it would say ‘this is a test.’”

Smith said the emergency management office purchased the system through Department of Homeland Security around four years ago.

There are several fail safes in place to further ensure that false alerts do not make it to the public through the EAS system, Smith said.

Only the emergency manager and the Cass County 911 director have the ability to issue such alerts, which must first be authorized by the sheriff. In addition, the broadcasters that actually receive the message have the option of verifying whether or not the information is correct before allowing it to be relayed to the public.

The county does not have the ability to send emergency alerts directly to cellular devices like those used in Hawaii on Saturday, though the State of Michigan and Emergency Management Agency do have this technology at their disposal, Smith said. In the event of an actual missile attack, the message would likely be broadcast through them instead at the county level, Smith added.

While Smith said odds of Cass County ever being targeted by a foreign nation are “very, very minute,” the emergency manager said that in the event of such an attack that residents a sturdy building to take refuge inside, take shelter on the lowest level, and try to get toward the centermost part of the building.

“You want as many walls between you and the outside as possible,” Smith said.

People should also attempt to keep updated on any new information during an attack, which could be the difference between life and death.

“The public needs to stay tuned, and get their information from somewhere reliable, or else they could be heading into trouble instead of away from it” he said.