Japan leveraging mobile to fix 'flawed' disaster alert system
News On Japan via zdnet.com -- Oct 30
Japan will implement a new disaster alert system to ensure the public can receive important emergency information on their cell phones and other channels.
According to The Daily Yomiuri on Monday, citing government officials, the planned system will enable mobile phones, cable TV connections and other devices to automatically receive emergency information, such as evacuation instructions from local governments and reports from the current disaster system, J-Alert.
This new system will also include flood alerts, radiation reports following a nuclear accident, as well as road conditions and the status of transportation systems. It may also add public information about shelters and other evacuation information after a certain period following a major disaster, officials added.
The current J-Alert system, functional since Feb. 2007, has been criticized as having many flaws especially in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami on Mar. 11 2011, officials note. It current sends emergency alerts to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, which then notifies relevant local governments via satellite.
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