World · East Asia & Pacific · 2 hrs ago
Japan Withdraws Erroneous Alert for a 9.9-Magnitude Earthquake
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued an alert based on a mistaken 9.9-magnitude estimate on Friday.
The warning covered a wide area, from Hokkaido to the Tokai region, after officials initially placed the quake near Russia’s Kuril Islands.
The actual quake was magnitude 6.9 near Kamchatka, and it caused only slight shaking in parts of Hokkaido.
The agency withdrew its alert about eight minutes after it was sent, after people had received urgent phone notifications and broadcasters had warned of strong shaking.
No magnitude 9.9 earthquake has ever been recorded, and the agency’s estimate was far above the quake’s confirmed size.
A quake of that scale could cause catastrophic damage, so an inaccurate warning can cause widespread alarm.
The agency apologized and is investigating how the error happened.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency withdrew an earthquake alert after mistakenly estimating that a magnitude 9.9 quake had occurred.
The alert was sent at about 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 16 and warned of strong shaking across a wide area of Japan.
The agency later confirmed that a magnitude 6.9 quake occurred near the Kamchatka Peninsula, with only slight shaking recorded in parts of Hokkaido.
The agency said it was investigating the cause of the overestimate and apologized for the disruption.
- Who
- Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued and later withdrew the alert.
- What
- It mistakenly estimated a magnitude 9.9 earthquake and warned of strong shaking.
- When
- Oct. 16, 2026, at about 12:40 p.m.; the alert was withdrawn about eight minutes later.
- Where
- The alert covered a broad area from Hokkaido to Tokai. The actual quake was near the Kamchatka Peninsula.
- Why
- The agency overestimated the quake’s magnitude and initially misidentified its location. The cause was under investigation.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The agency’s initial estimate recorded a magnitude 9.9 quake near the Kuril Islands.
An emergency alert warned of strong shaking across a wide area of Japan.
The agency sent a notice withdrawing the alert.
The agency’s final assessment identified a magnitude 6.9 quake near the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The agency apologized at a news conference and said it was investigating the cause.
- Initial estimate
- Magnitude 9.9
- Final assessment
- Magnitude 6.9
- Actual quake location
- Near the Kamchatka Peninsula
- Alert duration
- About 8 minutes
- Recorded shaking in Japan
- Intensity 1 in parts of Hokkaido
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What people are saying
We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience caused by issuing an excessive emergency earthquake warning.