A routine test of an earthquake information system in Tokyo on Friday mistakenly notified citizens about an earthquake that hadn’t occurred.Subscribers to a cell phone e-mail service provided by Tokyo’s Minato ward received messages just after 1 p.m. that a “moderately strong earthquake” had been registered at the city hall. “Beware of aftershocks. Check that fire-prone areas are secure and remain calm,” read the e-mail, which said the quake had registered 4 on the Japanese scale.A quake of that level is capable of frightening many people, considerably swaying hanging objects and being noticeable to people walking on the street and driving cars. However, the 1,800 subscribers to the ward’s e-mail service were likely more puzzled than frightened when the message came.“We were testing the system and we mistakenly sent out an e-mail,” said an official at the ward’s disaster-prevention office. Officials sent out a second e-mail a few minutes later notifying subscribers of the error. Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, and tremors happen somewhere in the country on a daily basis. Earthquake information systems are highly advanced, and TV stations automatically flash news within minutes of a quake occurring. Yahoo Japan has also begun to carry information on its site, replacing all the banner ads with information when a strong quake occurs.Last year, testing began of a new system that is capable of giving people several seconds’ warning of an impending temblor. The system catches fast-moving but low-energy P-waves from a quake and quickly calculates the earthquake’s source and strength. Then it can map where the more destructive S-waves will be felt at what time and at what strength. The system could provide anything from a few seconds’ to a minute’s warning of shaking from a major earthquake—long enough to bring trains to a halt, cut gas supplies and stop factory production lines.-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost ChatGPT and Your Organisation: How to Monitor Usage and Be More Aware of Security Risks By Hayley Salyer Jun 05, 2023 7 mins Chatbots Artificial Intelligence brandpost Who’s paying your data integration tax? Reducing your data integration tax will get you one step closer to value—let’s start today. By Sandrine Ghosh Jun 05, 2023 4 mins Data Management feature 13 essential skills for accelerating digital transformation IT leaders too often find themselves behind on business-critical transformation efforts due to gaps in the technical, leadership, and business skills necessary to execute and drive change. By Stephanie Overby Jun 05, 2023 12 mins Digital Transformation IT Skills tip 3 things CIOs must do now to accurately hit net-zero targets More than a third of the world’s largest companies are making their net-zero targets public, yet nearly all will fail to hit them if they don’t double the pace of emissions reduction by 2030. This puts leading executives, CIOs in particul By Diana Bersohn and Mauricio Bermudez-Neubauer Jun 05, 2023 5 mins CIO Accenture Emerging Technology Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe