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Could Arizona see a false alarm on an incoming ballistic missile?

After Hawaiians were sent into a panic this weekend, it's worth checking out.

People in Hawaii were sent into a panic over the weekend when the state's emergency alert system warned them of an incoming missile.

Of course, we now know that it was a false alarm that sent people scrambling.

Could Arizona see a similar problem?

The emergency alert system runs on a network of radio stations that covers 90 percent of the U.S.'s population.

Those stations have a direct line to the federal government and relay the messages to other television and radio stations, and to your cell phone.

The messages on the emergency alert system can be triggered a few different places -- the president, the National Weather Service and each state's emergency management agency.

RELATED: Hawaii worker who pushed button reassigned after bungled missile alert

Arizona's is located in the National Guard base near Papago Park, right next door to the emergency bunker where government officials would go in the case of a major threat.

The problem is that the system is 21 years old.

The first nationwide test of the system was in 2011, and there have been two more since. Parts of the system have failed every time.

On top of that, it's been hacked at least twice.

The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs said its system does have a safeguard, asking if a user is sure she or he wants to send the message. But that's exactly the same safeguard Hawaii has in place.

So yes, we could see a false alarm like the one that freaked out the Hawaiian islands this weekend.

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