Japan Withdraws False Earthquake Alert After Mistaken 9.9 Magnitude Warning
Japan's Meteorological Agency issued and then withdrew an emergency earthquake alert on October 16, 2026, after mistakenly believing a magnitude 9.9 quake near the Kuril Islands had occurred, with the tremor barely felt.
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| Oct 19, 4:28 AM | scmp.com | Japan’s ‘mega-quake’ that never was, and the danger of false alarms |
| Oct 16, 11:10 AM | gizmodo.com | Japan’s False Emergency Alert for a 9.9 Earthquake Wasn’t a Cyberattack |
| Oct 16, 7:08 AM | nytimes.com | Japan Mistakenly Issues Warning for Strongest Ever Earthquake |
| Oct 15, 9:20 PM | japantimes.co.jp | Emergency alert for strong quake withdrawn minutes later |