Yurekuru Call is a mobile app that allows to be warned of earthquakes in Japan. It is very popular on the Japanese archipelago because its users can note theirs feelings after a jolt.
You may know Japan is a country regularly hit by violent earthquakes. The recent History attests with tragic events like the tsunami that hit Fukushima on March 11, 2011, or more recently with the powerful quake that destroyed much of Kumamoto prefecture.
Nothing can prevent an earthquake to hit the country again. Fortunately, the Japanese do their utmost to live well with that risk. And for this they often use new technologies.
Yurekuru Call is one of those initiatives that allow to increase the people’s safety in Japan. Indeed, this application warns its users when an imminent large-scale shaking arrives.
Why download Yurekuru Call?
Phones with a Japanese SIM card ring when a large-scale earthquake is about to begin. Well… I should say “scream” instead of “ring”. Because these phones usually scream “Jishin, jishin, jishin…” which means “Earthquake, earthquake…”. Sometimes the warning is more terrifying than the seismicity.
Anyway, this measure allows people to get time to find a safety spot. This greatly reduces the casualties risk. Unfortunately, this feature is not available for tourists visiting Japan, because most of them use their phones without a Japanese SIM card or with a Pocket WiFi.
With Yurekuru Call, you can obtain this feature, even if you do not have a Japanese phone number. Please, remember though that you will need an Internet connection to be able to receive alerts. This is certainly a good reason to opt for renting a Pocket WiFi during your trip to Japan.
This app is also very famous in japan, because it allows all its users to indicate how much they felt the tremors. These statistics are then made available to all on an in-app map.
Where to find this mobile application?
Yurekuru Call is available for most Android and iOS smartphones. iPhone owners can download it from the iTunes Store, while Andronauts are able to obtain it on the Google Play Store.
As usual, marginals with Windows Phone or Blackberry OS will have no choice but to change their phone. Yurekuru Call is still not available on these operating systems. It is also likely that this app will never arrive on those two OS.
