The Japan Meteorological Agency apologized to citizens minutes after issuing a false warning about a dangerous earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter scale; the warning had temporarily halted public transportation.
After the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of the possibility of a dangerous earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter scale near the Kuril Islands (known as the Chishima Islands), triggering emergency alerts on the mobile phones of millions of citizens, it canceled its warning shortly afterward.
The agency later explained that a real earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale had occurred Friday afternoon off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, at a depth of 160 kilometers, but a system error in determining the earthquake’s epicenter had led to the false warning being issued.
Shinya Tsukada, an official with the Japan Meteorological Agency, told reporters: “We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience and concern we caused our citizens.” Although the warning did not cause widespread fear and panic, it resulted in disruption and a temporary halt to public transportation.
It is worth noting that Japan still remembers the devastating earthquake of 2011, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, which was followed by a powerful tsunami that left nearly 18 thousand 500 dead or missing and led to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Japanese domestic media have also noted that if an earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter scale occurred, its energy would be 22 times that of the earthquake of 2011.
