4 ms·

In Japan, all phones (even the iPhone) are setup to emit a loud alarm sound when an earthquake warning is sent, whether your phone is on manner mode or not. The

by w00kie 12y ago

In Japan, all phones (even the iPhone) are setup to emit a loud alarm sound when an earthquake warning is sent, whether your phone is on manner mode or not. The alarm sound is very distinctive and the same for all phones as well as all TV channels.

Scoundreller 12y ago
This is what I could find: The sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDvAYF8Q-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDvAYF8Q-I Wikipedia article in bad need of proof-reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_Early_Warning_(Japan) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_Early_Warning_(Japan...
ssclafani 12y ago
People in Tokyo had a 60 second warning for the 2011 quake. Here's a good translation of the TV alerts from that day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24KfBwkMw_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24KfBwkMw_M Phone alert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAAIcqI_0Jk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAAIcqI_0Jk Warning countdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-FMpNBfna8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-FMpNBfna8
- chvid 12y ago
  The first and the last video are quite impressive. It is really an amazing warning system saving real lives. Thanks for posting.
- kalleboo 12y ago
  Here's a matrix of the 6 big TV channels. Top left is the national broadcast (of the public broadcaster, NHK), the others are local commercial Tokyo broadcasts. The earthquake was initially not estimated to be big enough to affect Tokyo so Tokyo stations didn't automatically broadcast the initial alert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrAwvJLKxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrAwvJLKxo
- po 12y ago
  Right when the guy in that last video said 'sugoi' is about when I said 'oh shit' and crawled under my desk. The amazing thing is that I sat at my desk for about 30 seconds beforehand wondering when this 'rather large' earthquake was going to start to slow down rather than escalate. After feeling a lot of them, you start to be able to guess their distance and severity based on the P-wave vs S-wave timing of what you feel. It's kind of like counting seconds after seeing lighting until you hear thunder except you have 2 components: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_wave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_wave
thatswrong0 12y ago
In the US, amber alerts hijack phones and emit an alarm. Had it happen in the middle of a college lecture.. although some phones received it 5 minutes later than others. I'm guessing this functionality could be used for earthquakes.
- mhurron 12y ago
  That system is really poorly implemented in the US. I've received alerts for things happening in different states and haven't received alerts for things I know are happening in the county. I would expect if they used it for earthquakes as it is I would get the alert on the East Coast and someone in California wouldn't.
- dredmorbius 12y ago
  I've got to say that my experience with Amber Alerts is strongly negative. For a while they were triggering various alerts (including EBS interruptions on radio and TV), with a frequency that lead me to strongly discount such warnings. Emergencies should be reserved for circumstances in which the recipient of a message can and should take immediate action. An alert is just that: an advisory. Run these was an item in normal newscasts, or in advisory systems (including if you absolutely must, highway signage). But not distracting people. The fact that, at least in my recollection, a huge number of Amber Alerts appear to involve immediate family / partner situations (boyfriend/girlfriend, other parent, husband/wife, modulo estrangement). Most seem to resolve reasonably well. And I'm not sure that a full-on aggressive response benefits the situation. Again, that's a recollection and personal perception. But overall, I'm underimpressed by the system. This seems to have improved somewhat in more recent years.
  - dap 12y ago
    And yet, at least once, the alert on the phone specifically (rather than a newscast or highway signage) appears to have saved at least one life[0]. Of course, we don't know what would have happened, and it did wake up the whole state, too. But I think the argument in favor is that the probability of success for these searches decreases quickly with time, so there is substantial value in getting word out quickly. [0] http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/30/4275356/amber-alert-for-1-year-old-high.html#.U_q8rbxdWAM http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/30/4275356/amber-al...
idlewords 12y ago
It says something about Japan that the sound is kind of sweet. In the US, we have the Amber Alert sound specially hand-crafted to make you think the world is ending.
ekianjo 12y ago
Yeah but sometimes they are triggered by mistake. Happened to me one or two years ago, without any actual quake happening.
glandium 12y ago
It's actually not a japanese-specific setup. I got a japanese earthquake alert on my french Nexus 4. (and it was, fortunately, a false alarm; rare event, but that happens)

by w00kie 12y ago

Scoundreller 12y ago

This is what I could find: The sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDvAYF8Q-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDvAYF8Q-I Wikipedia article in bad need of proof-reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_Early_Warning_(Japan) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_Early_Warning_(Japan...

ssclafani 12y ago

People in Tokyo had a 60 second warning for the 2011 quake. Here's a good translation of the TV alerts from that day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24KfBwkMw_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24KfBwkMw_M Phone alert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAAIcqI_0Jk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAAIcqI_0Jk Warning countdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-FMpNBfna8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-FMpNBfna8

chvid 12y ago
The first and the last video are quite impressive. It is really an amazing warning system saving real lives. Thanks for posting.
kalleboo 12y ago
Here's a matrix of the 6 big TV channels. Top left is the national broadcast (of the public broadcaster, NHK), the others are local commercial Tokyo broadcasts. The earthquake was initially not estimated to be big enough to affect Tokyo so Tokyo stations didn't automatically broadcast the initial alert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrAwvJLKxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrAwvJLKxo
po 12y ago
Right when the guy in that last video said 'sugoi' is about when I said 'oh shit' and crawled under my desk. The amazing thing is that I sat at my desk for about 30 seconds beforehand wondering when this 'rather large' earthquake was going to start to slow down rather than escalate. After feeling a lot of them, you start to be able to guess their distance and severity based on the P-wave vs S-wave timing of what you feel. It's kind of like counting seconds after seeing lighting until you hear thunder except you have 2 components: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_wave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_wave

thatswrong0 12y ago

In the US, amber alerts hijack phones and emit an alarm. Had it happen in the middle of a college lecture.. although some phones received it 5 minutes later than others. I'm guessing this functionality could be used for earthquakes.

mhurron 12y ago
That system is really poorly implemented in the US. I've received alerts for things happening in different states and haven't received alerts for things I know are happening in the county. I would expect if they used it for earthquakes as it is I would get the alert on the East Coast and someone in California wouldn't.
dredmorbius 12y ago
I've got to say that my experience with Amber Alerts is strongly negative. For a while they were triggering various alerts (including EBS interruptions on radio and TV), with a frequency that lead me to strongly discount such warnings. Emergencies should be reserved for circumstances in which the recipient of a message can and should take immediate action. An alert is just that: an advisory. Run these was an item in normal newscasts, or in advisory systems (including if you absolutely must, highway signage). But not distracting people. The fact that, at least in my recollection, a huge number of Amber Alerts appear to involve immediate family / partner situations (boyfriend/girlfriend, other parent, husband/wife, modulo estrangement). Most seem to resolve reasonably well. And I'm not sure that a full-on aggressive response benefits the situation. Again, that's a recollection and personal perception. But overall, I'm underimpressed by the system. This seems to have improved somewhat in more recent years.
- dap 12y ago
  And yet, at least once, the alert on the phone specifically (rather than a newscast or highway signage) appears to have saved at least one life[0]. Of course, we don't know what would have happened, and it did wake up the whole state, too. But I think the argument in favor is that the probability of success for these searches decreases quickly with time, so there is substantial value in getting word out quickly. [0] http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/30/4275356/amber-alert-for-1-year-old-high.html#.U_q8rbxdWAM http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/30/4275356/amber-al...

idlewords 12y ago

It says something about Japan that the sound is kind of sweet. In the US, we have the Amber Alert sound specially hand-crafted to make you think the world is ending.

ekianjo 12y ago

Yeah but sometimes they are triggered by mistake. Happened to me one or two years ago, without any actual quake happening.

glandium 12y ago

It's actually not a japanese-specific setup. I got a japanese earthquake alert on my french Nexus 4. (and it was, fortunately, a false alarm; rare event, but that happens)