The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) mistakenly issued an early warning estimating a magnitude 9.9 earthquake and predicting strong tremors across much of the country. The actual earthquake measured a magnitude of 6.9 near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The alert was issued at approximately 12:36 p.m. Friday in Japan, Thursday night in the United States and was canceled at 12:48 p.m., according to NHK. It warned of strong tremors in northern and central Japan, including the Tokyo region. An early warning display identified the location as the Kuril Islands region and showed an estimated magnitude of 9.9 at a depth of 140 kilometers (87 miles). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the actual earthquake at magnitude 6.9 and located its epicenter approximately 76 kilometers (47 miles) northeast of Ozernovskiy, Russia. Its estimated depth was 143.2 kilometers (89 mi). Article continues below player According to NHK, the earthquake did not produce tremors in Japan and no tsunami warnings were issued. The weather agency said it will investigate the error. A magnitude 9.9 earthquake would be the largest ever recorded, surpassing the magnitude 9.5 earthquake that struck Chile in 1960, according to the USGS. It would release approximately 32,000 times more energy than the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Kamchatka.
