Earthquake Alert App Review

This is the first app review for my mini-series on the EEW system in Japan.


Intro to EEW


I made a video app review for you guys. Yes, my first video笑
I know nothing about editing or anything like that so please forgive me!






Earthquake Alert:
Works in Japan? Worldwide? Yes&Yes
Language(s)? English only.
Best feature: The map.
Good things: Runs/loads fast. Can set filters based on magnitude, date, distance. Can set the units. Map powered by Google Maps. Only works in Real-time so less data storage.
Bad things: No push notifications (separate beta app available). Real-time only (for up to the last week).
Ease of usage: Very easy to navigate, simple to understand.
iPhone app? Yes.
Recommended? For those looking for a simple, wordwide notification app, yes. For those looking for more specific/advanced features or push notifications, no.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Hopefully as I make more videos, I'll get better at them and now sound so crazy. haha.

Do you like the video review? or would you prefer pictures/text? Let me know!!!


Thanks for reading/watching! 

Early Earthquake Warning [EEW] System Introduction

A long time ago I made mention that I would do a review of different apps you can use while in Japan for earthquake alerts and safety information, and after the recent 7.1 earthquake that hit just minutes ago, I figured now would be a decent time.

I clearly remember the first earthquake I ever experienced. It was about a month after I came to Japan. It was a sunny fall day and I was sitting in English class. It was a very, very weak one but I freaked. Everyone else just kept working and minding their own business but I was terrified. (I'm from Northeastern Pennsylvania - ie: No tectonic plates close enough for earthquakes)

Once a couple months had passed they had stopped being terrifying and just became an annoying part of everyday life. Sometimes they happened, sometimes they didn't. Towards the end of my exchange they started happening more frequently, but since most were during the time I was at school or the middle of the night, I never knew much about earthquakes or for that matter, earthquake alerts. At my last host family, we'd watch TV during dinner and my host brother would sometimes predict the earthquakes.(freaky, right?!) We also had a guard dog that would start barking sometimes 15 seconds before it happened! It was at my last host families that I saw the TV's earthquake alert for the first time!

Then the Tohoku Earthquake or Great East Japan Earthquake happened. While I wasn't in Japan when the earthquake happened (I was in an airplane, flying close to Sendai actually), I experienced many of the aftershocks. It was during this time I actually experienced what a early warning alert sounded like, many times a day!

About the 緊急地震速報 (きんきゅう・じしん・そくほう, Earthquake Early Warning system)
The Earthquake Early Warning system was launched in 2007 as part of the 全国瞬時警報システム(literally: all country-instant-warning system) or the J-Alert. The J-Alert system is a satellite system developed so authorities could quickly broadcast alerts for things such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, even military alerts. According to the wikipedia article, Japanese officials claim it takes 1 second to inform authorities and 4 to 20 seconds to inform citizens.

"The EEW system can detect the approximate source and magnitude of an earthquake and send out public alerts via TV, radio, and cellphone--all in less than a minute of a quake's start. It also transmits signals that can automatically shut down computers, stop elevators at the nearest floor, and halt factory production lines."[article] (Note: for more information on the differences between S-waves and P-waves, I'd recommend this article for that as well!)

緊急地震速報 for 携帯(けいたい, cell phones)
Probably the most handy part of the Earthquake Early Warning system is the message alerts that can be sent to cell phones. This article from Japan Angle has a good description: "What happens first is that your phone gets automatically “flashed” by the earthquake warning centre. An alert ring tone goes off (irrespective of whether you’ve set it to silent or not) and a message pops up on your screen telling you the approximate epicentre of the quake. There is then usually a number of seconds before the ground actually starts moving beneath you – the amount of time you get depends on how close you are to the epicentre. This is just enough time for you to open a door or window (to ensure an easy escape route) and duck under something sturdy (to protect yourself from falling objects)."

[source] Translation of the message sent. Messages are usually available in English also.

For Docomo users, here is the page with more information, including a list of compatible devices.
au by KDDI users are unlucky in that the page with information on the EEW system(including how to set it up) is only available in Japanese. More information may be available in your handset's user guide or through customer service.
Softbank on the other hand, doesn't have any information linked from their English website. However, after searching through their Japanese website, I came across this page.
However, on both Softbank [link] and au [link] 's English websites you can find information on the Disaster Message Board Service and how to sign up.


緊急地震速報アプリ(あぷり, application) for スマートフォン(すまーとふぉん, smart phones)
I think this part will be the most appealing to my readers. If you're simply traveling or planning to stay in Japan for any extended period of time, you're probably fairly concerned with safety. If you can't speak Japanese, this probably makes your anxiety even worse.

I want to make this clear: The number and strength of earthquakes has toned down a lot. And it is not unusual at all to experience an earthquake in Japan, as the tectonic plates Japan sits on are very active. I am only doing this to give you a little peace of mind and hopefully help those in the future.

I am going to rate these apps, to the best of my ability, based on the following things:
Ease of usage(from a non-Japanese perspective)
Features such as: GPS location, push-notifications, maps,
Practicality

I will also list pros/cons of usage, best/worst feature, an over-all star rating, if it works world-wide or if it's limited to Japan, and if it there is both an Android and iPhone app. Please note I have an Android phone and can only review Android-based features.

I have four apps I am going to review, and I will also mention any other apps specifically for iPhone that I cannot review personally.

So be prepared for those in the immediate future. :]

Things I Learned in Japan: expectations lead to disappointments. [part 1]

This is going to seem ranty, and it in all honesty is, but it's something I feel needs to be discussed and I want to get it all off my chest before I freak.

I am a member of a forum for exchange students, and I've seen a lot of bashing of Rotary on the website. Some of it is warranted, but some of it is not. What really pisses me off, is that it is deterring potential future Rotary Exchange students from even considering Rotary because of how "irresponsible" they are. That's a crock of b.s. and I'm personally sick of it and how irresponsible exchange students just blame Rotary when much of their problems really were due to themselves and their expectations.


For those who don't know, I was a Rotary International Youth Exchange Student from District 7410 Northeastern Pennsylvania, United States of America to District 2820 Ibaraki-ken, Japan. More about RI's Youth Exchange can be found here.

Map of Ibaraki Prefecture

I left America at 10:15 AM on September 17th, 2009 and returned on August 17th, 2010. I lived in Kashima, Ibaraki for most of my exchange, but the last quarter was spent in Namegata, Ibaraki. I had five host families. I was sick often. I had to have a root-canal. I got hit by a car. I was left in a hotel for my first week. I had two host families that talked down to me and made me feel horrible. When I came to Japan, I had to wait for over an hour for someone to come get me. I was supposed to have a counselor, but I only met her twice. I was forced onto all of my host families. I was made fun of sometimes in school. My exchange was less than perfect.


My exchange was less than perfect, but I never once blamed it all on Rotary. Sure, some of it was Rotary's fault. Some of it was a culture problem. Some of it was irresponsibility of the people in Rotary. But if anything, it was Rotary Japan or my district's fault, not Rotary International as a whole.

With the 2-week exchanges from the Philippines. Love my derp face XD

For those unfamiliar with Rotary International Youth Exchange, I will explain it further.
Students are selected by Rotary Districts to do a one-for-one exchange to a foreign country - ie: one kid from a district in America goes to a district in Germany, one kid from that district in Germany goes to that district in America. However, some countries have only been allowed to send students due to concerns for their safety. Some districts have also been banned from youth exchange due to neglect or not following Rotary rules.


Communication with RIYE is primarily from District to District. That being said, whenever an issue arises, communication begins from higher up the food chain. However, if it can be handled District to District, that is the most ideal circumstance.


Within each club in Youth Exchange, there is a person assigned to be the Youth Exchange Counselor. If that club hosts students, that person is their counselor. If they send students abroad, that person is their club contact. My club in Japan changed 3 times (not allowed in Rotary rules, but whatev) so I essentially didn't have a counselor.


When I first came to Japan, I stayed in a hotel for a week. I essentially only slept there, but according to Rotary rules, that is a big no-no. Host families are supposed to be located and confirmed BEFORE the student arrives.


Host families were pretty much not found for me, other than my second which volunteered (I believe they did it for the money). Second hosts didn't like me very much, told my school how much I "hated" school, had no friends, was always skipping (I missed 3 days 'cause I was sick, I guess that's skipping), and that I needed to be "disciplined". That's where my 3rd hosts came in - I stayed with them for 20 days and they are just as close as family to me. They said to me on the second day, "You're nothing like what they told us". To which I found out about all that had been said about me. My 4th hosts were the same - they were asked to host me because the host mother was around a lot and could "keep an eye out on me". Yet again, we've become very close and they invited me back to their house many times. They even came and saw me off at Narita! My host mother also hugged me before I left - something which brought tears to my eyes.

above mentioned 4th hosts at Narita.

During this time, a lot of crap was still being talked about me within Rotary; about how "horrible" and "spoiled" I was, how I lacked any respect for Japan, and, that because I was "so bad" they couldn't find hosts for me (THAT is a total crock, I had many, many people offer to host me throughout my exchange, but because I had to change clubs, they couldn't. Also, the members of my last club weren't even asked!!!). Upon hearing this, my 5th host dad, who was not a member of Rotary, thought that I was being mistreated and said, "If you can't find a host family for her, she can stay at my house", to which the Youth Exchange Coordinator in my District in Japan simply stopped even trying to find a family - and also apparently forgot to tell those hosts I was even coming. [/embarrassment]


Overall, there was lack of accountability and willingness to do anything for me. But this is not Rotary International's fault. That I get. It is the fault of the people involved in Rotary in my district in Japan. If I had contacted my Rotary in America and said anything along the lines of, "I'm uncomfortable here," or "I feel like the Rotary here doesn't care about me" or anything of the sort, they would have taken the necessary actions to help me.


I was lucky that I have a very caring and involved Rotary District in America. Not everyone has that. However, I was told repeatedly throughout my orientations that Rotary is different in every country, and just because it is like this in America does not mean it will be like that in my host country. Here-again, it depends on the people within Rotary.



Rotary is not a bad organization. Some districts could really use some changing, but that's inevitable. You cannot go into an exchange through any program and expect them to be perfect! They are run by people! People make mistakes!

next part is coming later today or tomorrow and will focus on expectations of exchange students, host families, and of host countries by exchange students. Please check it out!