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Japan Issues False Magnitude 9.9 Earthquake Alert Before Retracting It
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News18•16-10-2026, 13:13
Japan Issues False Magnitude 9.9 Earthquake Alert Before Retracting It
- •Japan’s Meteorological Agency mistakenly issued an emergency warning for a massive magnitude 9.9 earthquake after a tremor struck near Russia.
- •The actual earthquake measured magnitude 6.9, and the erroneous alert was withdrawn just eight minutes later.
- •Emergency alarms triggered concern across northern, eastern, and central Japan before authorities confirmed there was no severe shaking or tsunami threat.
- •Officials ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the inflated estimate and are currently investigating the data processing error.
Key Questions Answered
The emergency earthquake-warning system incorrectly identified the epicenter near the Kuril Islands and mistakenly estimated the magnitude at 9.9, prompting a wide-area alert before being cancelled eight minutes later.
According to the USGS, the actual earthquake measured a magnitude of 6.9 and struck approximately 76 kilometres northeast of Ozernovskiy in Russia at a depth of around 143 kilometres.
No, despite the emergency alarms and the initial severe shaking forecast across northern, eastern, and central Japan, no tsunami warning or advisory was issued.
