Warnings

I’ve witnessed my first earthquake about a week ago. It was quite interesting. Everything started vibrating slightly as if the whole building was being shaken by a giant evil kid. It only lasted for a few seconds. I was just about to jump under a desk as instructed by my wise mother (who’s been through a 7.2 magnitude earthquake back in Romania in 1977).

My Japanese colleagues however were calm and unperturbed. That's probably because they’ve seen this happening every week or so. And also because a few seconds before, the Early Earthquake Warning System promptly kicked in. Of course, I had no idea what the voice on the loudspeakers was saying. But the system itself is quite clever. Using seismographs located everywhere in the country, the magnitude of the earthquake is quickly estimated, as well as the expected arrival time and intensity of the main shock wave at different locations. Then the warning signal is instantly sent out giving people precious seconds to get ready. At the same time, many automatic systems do their job, like slowing down trains and controlling elevators. Impressive!

Of course, sometimes these warnings go a bit too far. Like the other night for instance. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard this voice coming from the living room. I took my baseball bat ( :P ) and slowly opened the door. It turned out the voice was coming from this speaker, which I hadn’t noticed. It went on for about a minute and then it stopped. All in Japanese, of course. It was nearly midnight and thinking it must have been something important I went to the reception to get some answers. It turned out that a thunderstorm was coming our way. They just wanted to reassure their guests that everything was fine, and that loud thunders and flashing lights are quite normal during such a storm. Thanks a lot!