It had been quite a while since I had been jolted to attention by the piercing, shrill alarm coming from a mobile phone, indicating that a strong earthquake may strike within seconds.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency uses an Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system (緊急地震速報 Kinkyu Jishin Sokuho) to help warn about an impending earthquake whenever possible.
※Please note that it is not possible to always issue warnings in advance. Predicting earthquakes is extremely difficult. In many cases advance warning is not possible. A strong earthquake can strike at any time, so being prepared and alert is imperative.
Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) System:
The Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system analyzes seismic activity then issues alerts by tv, radio and push notifications to mobile phones that have enabled the notification service.
Whenever possible, advance or nearly simultaneous warnings are issued for major earthquakes. The alerts are sent as an earthquake starts, or in the best cases a few seconds in advance if the tremors can be predicted based on the seismic activity.
The warnings provide a few valuable seconds to brace oneself and try to protect oneself from falling objects and other dangers. It is also a chance to turn off the gas, heaters, etc.
The early warning system has a distinctive, chilling audio alarm along with a text alert noting the approximate location, timing, and preliminary strength. There is a link to some sample alarms at the end of this post.
*** If an alert is issued, immediately take action to protect yourself and your loved ones. ***
The Meteorological Agency, NHK public broadcaster, and other networks will quickly issue information after the quake about the earthquake’s strength, location, tsunami threat, and other important information about evacuations, etc.
Related Links:
- Sample alarm audio and voice notification by mobile provider AU in Japan (The voice notification is a repetition of the word “earthquake”.)
- Sample alarm audio and visual notification on NHK public broadcaster’s site (Video with audio is on the right side of the page)
- Japanese Meteorological Agency’s Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) System
