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Japan Mistakenly Issues Warning for Strongest Ever Earthquake
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- Japan's emergency earthquake warning system mistakenly issued a high-magnitude alert on Friday, initially indicating a 9.9 magnitude earthquake, which would have been the strongest ever recorded.
- The actual earthquake magnitude was 6.9, according to the United States Geological Survey, and the tremors felt in Japan were very weak.
- The Japan Meteorological Agency miscalculated the earthquake's epicenter, confusing it with a location near the Kuril Islands instead of the actual site near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
- Officials confirmed the error was not due to a cyberattack, and the incident is currently under investigation to prevent future mistakes.
- The false alarm triggered phone alerts and warnings across Japan, but the emergency warning was canceled less than 10 minutes after issuance.
