Earthquake warnings leave Kanto jolted, but the big shake never came

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

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From: the keyboard of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Date: Fri, Jan 5, 2018 at 1:37 PM
Subject: Earthquake warnings leave Kanto jolted, but the big shake never
came
To: E-mail Pamphleteer Dave Farber's Interesting People list <ip () listbox com
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*Earthquake warnings leave Kanto jolted, but the big shake never came*
BY CHISATO TANAKA
STAFF WRITER
JAN 5, 2018
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/01/05/national/earthquake-warnings-leave-kanto-jolted-big-shake-never-came/

Across the Kanto region and in parts of Fukushima Prefecture, alarms
suddenly rang out at 11:02 a.m. Friday from cellphones and public speakers.

“Emergency earthquake warning,” the text of the cellphone alert from the
Meteorological Agency read. “An earthquake has occurred off the coast of
Ibaraki. Prepare for strong shaking.”

But the jolt never came to the region.

The agency had estimated that a magnitude 6.4 earthquake would hit off the
coast of Ibaraki Prefecture.

In fact, that quake was magnitude 4.4 and 3 on the Japanese intensity
scale. But at the same time, a second quake hit Toyama Prefecture, this one
a magnitude 3.9 that also measured 3 on the Japanese scale.

*The erroneous warning — and unnerving alarms — came as a result of the two
quakes being processed by the prediction system as one event, a statement
released by the Meteorological Agency said.* The agency said it will
further investigate the incident and make efforts to improve the system.

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) alerts are issued by the agency when its
system predicts earthquakes hitting lower 5 or higher on the Japanese
intensity scale. Alerts are sent to personal phones, public speakers,
radios and televisions in all the regions predicted to experience level 4
shaking or stronger.

Friday’s warning was also sent to 84 loudspeakers in public locations
across Shibuya Ward.

“We have received several complaints and inquiries asking why the warning
of big earthquake was announced despite the fact that the quake was too
small to feel,” said Toshiaki Hidaga, director of the ward’s disaster
prevention division.

The ward later sent out a message to its residents explaining how the EEW
system works and the reasons for sending out such warnings.

On Twitter, users offered mixed reactions to the scare. Some complained
about the alert, with user @tetraetra saying the alarm was risky for people
with heart trouble, adding, “Who asked for this sound?”

Others, including user @chokoota3, said they appreciated the system and
said it was wrong to complain about the warning as it served as a reminder
to always be prepared.

*In August 2016, a similar false alarm resulted in alerts warning of a
quake measuring 7 on the Japanese scale, the most powerful level.*

-- 
Geoff.Goodfellow () iconia com
living as The Truth is True
http://geoff.livejournal.com

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