JMA Cancels Emergency Warning After Predicting M9.9; Rules Out Cyberattack

Sharing this because I thought this was the end.

When I heard the squealing dolphin sound from multiple phones, saying “earthquake” and “jishin” all the time, I wasn’t that worried.

I clicked into the alert in the NERV app, which gave more information, like the predicted intensity and time of arrival. I wasn’t able to comprehend what I saw:

The entire upper half of Japan was painted red. Does red mean affected?

The expected intensity is 7. That’s a huge one; I should seek shelter. Wait...

The time until arrival was three digits in seconds. That’s strange. But I still had time.

So I grabbed my mini getaway pouch (ID/passport, cash and cards), quickly went downstairs, and got out of my home.

I was on the street and still had a bit over 100 seconds. Should I avoid being next to the tall buildings and utility poles? I gave it a quick assessment and decided to trust reinforced concrete.

Next, I wasn’t sure where to go. There was a park across the road I could go to, and another park a bit further away that didn’t require crossing any roads. But in the end, I decided to walk to my friend’s home first and see if I could get him.

So I walked to his home. The countdown hit 0 halfway there. I was expecting strong shaking or a seasick feeling. Nothing happened.

I looked around. The sun was bright, and I was wearing black. The ojisan who was sitting in a car looked chill, listening to FM. A few people were on the street, but no one was in a hurry. No one showed any visible fear.

So I stood there, waited and waited. Nothing happened.

I pulled out my phone and opened X.com. It wasn’t helpful at all. I could see M9.9 trending among other earthquake-related keywords, but the server was really having difficulties returning anything.

I opened Telegram. Thank God it was still working. My friends were all chill: “They must be testing in production,” “Someone fat-fingered it,” “Data error.” I calmed down and walked back home.

Three minutes after I’d sat down, the dolphin on my phone squealed again. Same drill: I grabbed my pouch and phone, rushed out of my home, and started looking at the screen.

The Japanese version said the alert had been canceled.

The English version showed the same alert again.

And my friends said it must be really rare for things like this to happen. They must have forgotten how to properly cancel an alert.

I came back, sat down, and started waiting for my meeting with a recruiter.