r/Tokyo • u/mustacheofquestions • 1d ago
wtf was that earthquake warning
was there even a quake?
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u/Freak_Out_Bazaar 1d ago
As soon as I saw this I knew it was a false alarm. Seemed much too unrealistic. My question is was it completely a glitch, or did people actually feel something up in Hokkaido
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u/Masterkid1230 1d ago
I saw that and thought:
Almost certainly a false alarm, small chance we're going the way of the dinosaurs.
9.9 is so tremendously large, it's hard to believe it could happen
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u/aizukiwi 1d ago
Pretty sure everyone here in Fukushima pref had a reflexive heart attack at the sight of a nine. Only time in the past decade or so that I’ve dived for cover.
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u/Masterkid1230 1d ago
The thing is that I think it is believed a 9.9 is physically impossible within earth because of the amount of latent energy within plate tectonics and stuff.
Like, I fear a notification for an 8.8 or a 9.1 more than a 9.9 because the latter is almost certainly a bug, or at that level it's an extinction level event that no one will survive.
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u/aizukiwi 1d ago
I mean obviously yes, but my first reaction was: “earthquake. 9. Fuck.”
Didn’t think too much about the smaller number after the first.2
u/Freak_Out_Bazaar 1d ago
For me it was the magnitude and also depth. Those figures are absurd and was listening to some kid say “I am so rich I have a Gazillion dollars”.
Of course this kind of false alarm is usually based on some truth, like a realistically large earthquake, so I was still cautions
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u/Aurialirez1 1d ago
I didn’t get the 9.9 warning, I only got the warning on my phone before hand saying early warning, find shelter .
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u/Kamikaze_Lions 1d ago
Never felt a thing here in Sapporo
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u/alluramars 1d ago
Do you mind if I ask what app?
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u/Freak_Out_Bazaar 1d ago
NERV Disaster Prevention app
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u/Charming_Hotel1299 1d ago
We didn't feel anything here in Sapporo even though the alert went off two times.
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u/Double-Jellyfish-587 1d ago
there was super mild tremors i felt the bench i was sitting on vibrating lol was super confused lol bc i didn’t get any alerts but i hear it in the mall i was in
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u/Ellweiss 1d ago
I like the user-friendliness of having a cancellation announcement as another alarm.
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u/Prixmium 1d ago
I know that part cracked me up internally. My very helpless coworker was whining about how scared she was.
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u/socslave 1d ago
My guess is that the magnitude was reported wrong so it alerted way outside of the affected area. Surely not 9.9.
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u/Freak_Out_Bazaar 1d ago
It was probably erroneously reported depth. The reported depth of 160km is ridiculous and that’s what makes it widespread
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u/GildedTofu 1d ago
LOL! When the 9.9 happens, nobody will be posting about it because everybody will be dead and for the few who aren’t they won’t have a network to post to!
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u/Hotpot_Bunny 1d ago
That would make sense. It seems like it was a mistake just got the cancellation notif
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u/natistanomb 1d ago
Earthquake has been cancelled? Wtf?
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u/Ellweiss 1d ago
It was magnitude 9.9 on the early reports, so a bug somewhere probably caused the warning
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u/skatefriday 1d ago
There was a USGS 6.9 way up above Hokkaido near Russia. That's probably what triggered the alert.
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u/Ellweiss 1d ago
Yeah but 6.9 that far doesn't trigger warnings in Tokyo, especially with intensity 7 (though I don't know if intensity is adapted depending on the area you receive the warning). Still, the numbers don't make sense
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u/TakaIka83 1d ago edited 1d ago
There was a similar incident close on ten years ago now where two small earthquakes at opposite sides of the country happened at precisely the same moment, causing the system to read them as the same monumental quake and scare everyone shitless.
In this case, I imagine they're relying on a similar triangulation for the reading, being outside of Japanese territory, which is probably resulting in a similar inaccuracy.
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u/Hamactus 1d ago
It's actually possible, because I think there was something very, very minor (about 1, I think?) in Kumamoto at about the same time
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u/Wonderyn 1d ago
It was an accident. The 6.9 was originally marked as a 9.9. That’s why you got the alert.
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u/GildedTofu 1d ago
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused, but today’s earthquake has been cancelled.
“We apologize for any inconvenience, but do hope you’ll allow us to alert you to the next earthquake, scheduled to occur at a more inconvenient time, such as when you’ve just settled in to your toasty warm evening bath.”
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u/fuzzy_emojic Western Tokyo 1d ago
Wasn't here a news post a few weeks ago on one Japan News sub that mentioned that the alert system was vulnerable to potential abuse by bad actors? I certainly hope this wasn't the case...
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u/lovehopeandmadness 1d ago
I’m in Shinjuku Gyoen Garden with a bunch of other tourists and locals and it was only us foreigners wigging out
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u/glass_parton 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm in Nakano by Nakano Broadway, and it was the same here. I was internally freaking out, but I was surrounded by people, and they were all acting like nothing was happening
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u/RefrigeratorGold834 1d ago
Everybody else was too, it's the silent comprehending of the ending of it all
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u/Important-Ad-332 1d ago
Me too!! Was having lunch and had panicked look on my face, but all the locals ignored it, so...
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u/Much_Concentrate7780 1d ago
I was in Kamakura and literally nobody was reacting at all... everyone looked at their phones and that was about it. I was like "I guess it must be fine?" My signal was mostly dead so I couldn't even search online to see that was being said about it
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u/winterprincess_97 1d ago
I was in mitaka at the ghibli museum cafe and I was internally freaking out and everyone else was just chilling, still eating and serving food 😂 then the cancellation beeping came through but in English it gave the same warning twice so I defo thought it was happening
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u/cliomeow 1d ago
Hahaha same - I took a nap in Gyoen - we thought would be the safest place to be around
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u/Oukaria Adachi-ku 1d ago
Quite big in hokkaido, there is alerts on all Kanto, havnt felt a thing here tho
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u/RedYamOnthego 1d ago
Nothing in Tokachi. I heard it was centered in Russia, but my wifi has been too wonky lately to check jma.
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u/Raijyuu009 1d ago
Thought it was another cyberattack after feeling nothing given the recent security breaches and hacking of Japanese systems.
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u/santiboob 1d ago
imagine trying to do work inside becks coffee and jumping out of ur seat when 50 phones go off at once lol
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u/YvngChrono 1d ago
I was confused at first because the warning was issued for the Kuril Islands (above hokkaido). The second warning just now said they canceled the warning 🤷♂️ scary nonetheless
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u/ChoiceAdmirable390 1d ago
Glad im not the only one who just freaked out couldnt find anything online thanks reddit
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u/thissatori 1d ago
Out by Hachioji and feeling nothing. NHK says it north east of hokkaido.
It seems like maybe there was a mistake that registered on a long area? Someone here said nerv said it was 9.9 which seems unlikely.
EDIT
NHK just said that its been 5 minutes and there is nothing about 震度 or magnitutde so....maybe it was a mistake?
EDIT 2
NHK is showing this image. seems like they are cancelling it. seems like a mistake or a hack or something is what happened
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u/Agile-Organization-9 1d ago
It was a 6,9 but really far away. I guess the intensity of it triggered the alarm
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u/evildave_666 1d ago
There was a single detector in Hakodate that crossed the shindo 1 threshold, nothing else in Japan even registered enough to measure on shindo scale.
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u/sensitive2fate 1d ago
Got it on my phone, heard it through speakers afterwards. All seems business as usual…?
Edit: @ kinshicho
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u/fuzzy_emojic Western Tokyo 1d ago
I'm sitting here also confused. The alert scarred the beejesus out of my cat who was sleeping next to my desk lol
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u/gucsantana 1d ago
Got both the phone alarm and the street alarms blasting, but no shaking actually happened, south Shinagawa. Seems like it was MASSIVE in Hokkaido though, jesus
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u/lazylimpet 1d ago
Yep it's been cancelled. Seems like an error. First time experiencing that - was prepared for it to be really big.
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u/Filet_o_math 1d ago
I didn't feel anything in Makuhari, but phone and public address system are going nuts.
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u/Hotpot_Bunny 1d ago
I’m surprised yall got a magnitude my warning in Sendai just says strong earthquake soon and no magnitude attached
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u/jbdrawsthings 1d ago
Seems like just now it is canceled and was a wrong warning. My phone had the warning three times
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u/Sfmusic2000 1d ago
My husband, who is in Tokyo right now, sent me a text about the alert, and then texted me a few minutes later that it got canceled !
It was quite an intense few minutes.
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u/Omexy 1d ago
It’s got to be a cyberattack. NERV reported it as a M9.9 which is frankly impossible. It must be linked to the recent attacks across Europe and other stuff. Future is looking scary.
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u/socslave 1d ago
There was an actual earthquake off the coast of Hokkaido so more likely just a glitch..
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u/ScootOverMakeRoom 1d ago
More likely an equipment malfunction, either in the sensors themselves or the automated system that turns the data into alerts.
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u/Much_Concentrate7780 1d ago
99% of the time this type of thing is a bug and not an actual cyberrattack
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u/Nekojita8 1d ago
Honestly not the worst false alarm I've lived through because I was in Hawaii during the false ballistic missile alert when literally everyone thought we were going to die for 30 minutes.
This one still freaked me out though. So glad it was a false alarm
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u/mieri_azure 1d ago
Jesus christ man ive always wondered what it was like to be there during the missile alert. Thats the scariest fucking thing ever
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u/Nekojita8 1d ago
It was absolutely terrifying. The alert came in the morning while I was in the shower. I thought, "Well I came into this world naked, I guess I'm going out naked too!"
I was about to leave to go pick up my long distance boyfriend from the airport. He was still on the tarmac apparently and they didn't tell anyone on board what happened. Honestly for the best. I can't imagine what kind of chaos would ensue if they had been notified while trapped on a plane.
I, on the other hand, almost slipped getting out of the shower, took my dog into my closet and called my mom in another state while bawling my eyes out in a panic attack. My house at the time was a single panel build (literally could see outside if you put a nail in the wall) So absolutely no real shelter.
Nobody knew what was going on for over half an hour and we found out it was a false alarm only through Twitter!
Turns out someone actually did press the wrong button!
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u/shinwha1 1d ago
Here in Tokyo and didn’t feel anything. Scared the shit out of me though. Idek what to do in that instance lol. Travelling here
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u/LevelAd5898 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you’re outside, move somewhere where nothing can fall on you or move indoors to hide under a table
or in a doorframe. Unlikely there’d be a quake strong enough to do much more than shake you up a little bit and maybe knock some things off of shelves but better safe than sorry ig2
u/shinwha1 1d ago
Good to know! Thank you!
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u/hesalop 1d ago
FYI you shouldn't be looking for doorframes in an earthquake. You should be looking for cover, so under a strong desk or table
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u/MrDecker1 1d ago
LOOL I forgot to clean my room, tripped on a cable and fell on my toaster oven while running to hide.
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u/Master-Let8548 1d ago
Was waiting outside Tokyo Solomachi when the alerts popped up.. didn’t feel anything but did scare the fart out of me
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u/No-Respond9316 1d ago
Chiba here, literally got notified twice when I finally got my son to sleep. He woke right back up 😭
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u/Tokyometal 1d ago
The second one was a notification of the cancellation of the first one hahahaha. And the first one seems to have been for a 9.9M in the Kurils, mis-measured.
And it doesn't seem like a hack - its legit. So the systems are just fucked.
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u/Fluid_Plankton5849 1d ago
Toyama here i was relaxing before night shift when that warning had me flying out of my house like wtf was that
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u/nckh_ 1d ago
Please don't tell me even the earthquake warning system got hacked.
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u/santistasofredora 1d ago
I'm on the ginza line right now, everyone's phone started ringing. Both me and the other foreign girl on the train were probably looking scared af while everyone just kept their cool.
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u/DaasDaham 1d ago
Nope didn’t feel anything here in shinagawa. It did alert at least 3 times for me
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Oukaria Adachi-ku 1d ago edited 1d ago
may have been an echo between captors like we had in tokyo like 10 years ago... so I hope
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8250aa96c8bc427299ec3b14138f7a4f4d4193ab
yep
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u/Hotpot_Bunny 1d ago
9.9?!!! I couldn’t find it online, is it too soon for anything to be posted? Didn’t feel anything in sendai
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u/jirachiStars 1d ago
I was so confused cause most earthquakes it happened as soon you get that warning. Even the military post sent the warning out too. I was shocked to see it was NOT EVEN CLOSE to Tokyo. Then we got that canceled text? Very confusing.
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u/analogue_geek 1d ago
A 9.9 in Russia would give Tokyo a pretty damn good shake… 9.9 is like 16 TIMES bigger than the 2011 quake. Would have probably made Hokkaido sink into the planet or something
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u/Turbinator1990 1d ago
I was in Tokyo Disney
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u/Pure-Chipmunk-4993 1d ago
I was right on the helipad platform of the shibuka sky observatory. Scared the shit out of my wife and I but didn’t panic. Definitely a few tourists were visibly in panic mode.
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u/amoryblainev Nakano-ku 1d ago
Idk but it was the first time I’d gotten an earthquake alarm while on an underground train so I was a little nervous
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u/rachbich 1d ago
i was near mount fuji when the whole car got the alarm but me, i was just totally clueless watching people get scared then confused lol. apparently klook esims don’t get you connected for these disaster notifications 🤷
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u/Key-Consequence-3335 1d ago
Not the best timing when you’re surrounded by 2 year olds during lunch time 😐
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u/analogue_geek 1d ago
So there must have been a serious problem with the system. If you go back through the event, it suddenly jumped from 7.3 to 9.9. Location and depth all about the same but it suddenly tripped and jumped to a magnitude of about 16000 times higher strength…
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u/TopBat2051 1d ago
Bruh nobody in tokyo even gave a fuck rly😭 i was having lunch on my break and literally nobody cared when the alert went off like 3 times
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u/brynoo5 1d ago
we all died in the first second and this is another universe