There's An App For That: Yurekuru
BC and I are in the field over in Tokyo this week ....and have been rocked by the frequent aftershocks from last months big quake (a magnitude 7.1 and a 7.4 being the biggest). A frequent sound prior to the tremor is the ding ding of the Yurekuru App, which gives locals a quick heads-up. You can even set a minimum intensity over which you want warning, as most people here don't get out of bed for less than a 7.
Japan doesn't use the same magnitude system as the West, preferring the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale which records quakes in actual relative intensity - rating the quake bigger the closer you are to the epicentre. The ratings are also accompanied by a written description, ranging from "Hanging objects such as lamps swing slightly" through "Hanging objects swing violently. Most unstable ornaments fall. Occasionally, dishes in a cupboard and books on a bookshelf fall and furniture moves" to "Most furniture moves to a large extent and some jumps up".
Update: The USGS has data streams accessible by the "Quakes" app - in English.
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12th Apr 2011 - Tumblr