Yesterday there was rather big quake. The iPhone Quake Alarm went off. Sharp woman’s voice stated 地震です！地震です！ “It’s quake! It’s Quake!!!” with this piercing sound effect which sounded like a frog having really bad cold. My room was shaking and a couple of books fell off from my shelf. This was one of the bigger ones.
It’s first time I ever heard this particular quake alarm from my phone. Previously I used app called Yurekuru, and occasionally the native iPhone emergency alarms went off without a reason, but never actually during real earthquake. Because of the alarm I actually took shelter under my desk. I normally don’t.
Some people in internet complained that they were more scared about the alarm than the actual quake. Then, the alarm went off only after the initial shakes, so I’m not exactly sure how useful this is. However, the main jolts came after the alarm. It really inspired me to move my body and find a possible safe place. I definably think that this alarm is most effective, and definite improvement over the old ones. It might be the woman’s voice.
I’m not sure if this is true, but some people say that lying flat on sofa is a safe place, since the structure of the sofa forms a kind of triangle. Even if a wall would fall on it, the sofa might protect you; you might be OK in the centre of the triangle. I’m not sure if it’s good to be under my Ikea desk which is supporting 20 kilo monitor and pair of 15 kilo speakers. Rush of adrenaline makes the heart beat fast.
The quake was felt shindo 4 here in Yokohama (Japanese scale).
In Japan it is common to put children to pre-school from early age, where they wear uniforms and try as much as possible to behave like adult. Even some kindergartens pose strict rules for children and forbid children making loud sounds. But this is nothing like that. This is gift from the sky.
