5.1.2
2024-04-15
This update features the following improvements
- Real-Time Seismic Intensity is now displayed on the Earthquake Early Warning screen by default
- Improved Real-Time information updates while viewing the Earthquake Early Warning screen
- The map on the Earthquake Early Warning screen now shows a larger area around the current location
- Improved Shaking Detection algorithm
- Improved display of Tsunami Forecast areas
- Added a retry process in the event of a network error
- Fixed English Translation of certain Tsunami Information
[Recent updates from the Development Team]
We extend our heartfelt condolences to those affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred at the beginning of this year. We also solemnly remember those who lost their lives.
During the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, we weren't satisfied with the performance of our push notification delivery infrastructure, so we tripled the number of instances and quadrupled the memory allocation to each, ensuring notifications were sent out as quickly as possible. We also identified and rectified minor issues in the Strong Motion Monitor layer and the program responsible for determining the notification range of estimated seismic intensity. Despite the unprecedented demand, our systems handled over 900 million accesses, with data transfers exceeding 4TB, at an error rate of 0%. The Strong Motion Monitor layer received a peak access of over 23,000 requests per second.
While reinforcing our infrastructure and handling traffic incurs a cost, these expenses are offset by the support of our Supporters' Club members. We sincerely appreciate your ongoing cooperation, which allows us to maintain and improve the system's reliability.
Since last year, we have been participating as committee members of the Japan Meteorological Agency's "Study Group on the Provision of Information on Long-Lasting Tsunami." However, given the tsunami warnings issued on January 1st and April 3rd of this year, there is still more work to be done to improve the quality of the information.
As we enter the new fiscal year, many of you may be embarking on new endeavours. With the changing seasons, please take care of your health.
5.1.1
2023-12-29
This update fixes a few minor bugs.
■ 2023 In Review
This year, we experienced complex patterns of data processing, such as tsunamis caused by large volcanic eruptions overseas and a series of large overseas earthquakes, tsunamis caused by earthquakes near Torishima that continued without a known magnitude, and J-ALERTs in the early morning and at night.
There were many other non-development tasks as well, such as holding lectures at study groups of the Cabinet Office and the Digital Agency, and participating as a committee member in study groups of the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. It was a year in which our role was no longer limited to just developing disaster prevention applications.
This release will be the last update of the year. We want to thank you all for your support and for taking good care of the app over the past year. We will continue to update the app in the coming year to make it even more useful for everyone.
Misato Katsuragi also commented during the attack of the angels: "You don't care about our reasons, do you? You must be the type of person women hate." But you never know when a disaster or crisis will strike. We hope that you will reconfirm your disaster stockpiles and evacuation methods in various situations for the year 2024.
Please stay safe, as the year-end and New Year's holidays are also a season of accidents and fires.
5.0.3
2023-09-19
・ Fixed a widget display bug on iOS 17
・ Improved some VoiceOver readouts
We've recently been making efforts to improve the efficiency of our Push Notification delivery system since as the number of users steadily increases, so does the cost of running the service.
To quote a certain Misato Katsuragi, "You know, money is a tricky thing to get right... The fate of humanity is at stake here!"
As the temperature is gradually changing, please make sure to take care of yourself~
5.0.1
2023-09-14
This update improves support for iOS 17.
Our Development Team has been hard at work to ensure there are no issues with the app in iOS 17. We've also been fine-tuning the strong-motion monitor and push notification systems, as well as making adjustments related to the River Levels layer.
We recently conducted a survey on X (formerly Twitter) that showed 72.7% of users prefer to use the Dark theme, while 27.3% prefer the Light theme. If you've been using the app without knowing you can change the theme, contrast, text size and thickness, we recommend you check out [Appearance] in the [Menu] tab.
It also appears that some users may be unaware that we launched the "Strong-Motion Monitor Layer" on September 1st. With this feature, you can see real-time tremors all over Japan. You can access it by going to the [Map] tab → [Layers] button → Strong-Motion Monitor. When enabled, real-time seismic intensity will also be displayed on the Earthquake Early Warning screen.
As we all eagerly wait for cooler weather, it's important to remember to take care of your health.
We hope you'll look forward to the next update!
5.0.0
2023-08-31
・ Strong-Motion Monitor Layer is now available for all users!
・ "Radar" Tab is now the "Map" tab
- Easily change the default layer
- Long-pressing the map icon now provides a shortcut to the Layer selection menu
・ Refreshed Dark Theme Icons
・ Updated Notification Sounds
To use the Strong-Motion Monitor Layer, select the Map tab → Layers → Strong-Motion Monitor.
◆ "To communicate even a second earlier."
Today is the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake that occurred on September 1st, 1923. At the time, little information was available to the public to use in disaster management. However, 100 years later, we're able to provide a countdown of expected seismic intensity and an estimated time of arrival tailored to each user based on their location, as well as real-time observed seismic intensity, updated every second.
We've been working for years to strengthen our information delivery infrastructure and speed up our apps to deliver information as quickly as possible. We are very pleased to provide new information "every second" with this update.
The information delivery infrastructure and applications we have implemented are just the beginning of this technology. The provision of such advanced seismic information has a long history of legislative, administrative, and research and development efforts, and is the result of the continuous efforts of our predecessors. This technology will only continue to improve in the future.
We, too, are committed to leaving a better disaster information system for the next generation.
We hope you'll continue to support our efforts, and that you'll keep using the NERV Disaster Prevention app in your daily disaster mitigation efforts.
Now, on to the next update!
Service service service!
4.5.0
2023-07-07
- Flood Forecasts for designated rivers have been added
- Fixed a problem where water level observation points overlapping your current location could not be selected
The JMA, MLIT and prefectural governments jointly issue designated river flood forecasts as a public service to keep residents informed on river conditions near them. The four levels of flood information associated with a forecast are Flood Alert (equivalent to Warning Level 2), Flood Warning (equiv. Level 3), High Risk of Flooding (equiv. Level 4) and Floods Occurring (equiv. Level 5).
This update also adds push notifications for when a designated river flood forecast is issued. You can now also see the forecast water level in the height graph when you tap on a station.
We still have more features coming for landslide and flood information in the future, so we greatly appreciate your support as we continue to work on them.
4.4.1
2023-06-06
This update fixes a bug where the river layer may appear underneath certain map features.
The release of "River Water Level Information" on June 2nd coincided with many rivers exceeding the emergency flood level shortly after release, and our systems sent numerous push notifications to users. We spent the day monitoring API errors and ensuring the reliability of the system.
Even in Chiyoda-ku (where our office is located), the nearby Kanda River experienced an increase in water level due to heavy rain, so on the very first day of release, we personally received notifications from the app indicating that the flood levels had been exceeded. As users of the app ourselves, we were able to make use of the water level information.
We managed to release the update just in time within a tight schedule and were fully dedicated to delivering information without issue. However, there were some areas where adjustments were insufficient, and this update addresses those issues.
As we enter the rainy season, we hope you'll make use of our push notifications and the new river water level information layer to stay safe.
We will continue to work on further enhancing the delivery of Disaster Prevention information and would be grateful for your ongoing support.
4.3.1
2023-02-01
This update includes:
- Enhanced Earthquake Early Warning functionality
- Higher resolution Estimated Seismic Intensity Distribution map
- Fixed an issue with the Accessible Themes settings page
From the 1st of February, the JMA has added "Long-Period Ground Motion" information to the announcement criteria for Earthquake Early Warnings issued by the JMA. Long-Period Ground Motion refers to the slower, longer waves produced by an earthquake that can cause the upper floors of high-rise buildings to shake/sway more strongly. This update adds support for Long-Period Ground Motion forecasts in line with the updated requirements and displays alongside the earthquake early warning when long-period ground motion is expected to occur.
Other improvements include support for higher resolution estimated seismic intensity distribution data, seismic intensity calculation using the PLUM method, and the ability to display multiple earthquake early warnings when issued simultaneously.
The JMA has been introducing a series of earthquake-related improvements, and the NERV Disaster Prevention development team has been working hard to bring these improvements to users as quickly as possible.
The development team plans to continue to update earthquake-related information and enhance the app's functionality for the upcoming rainy season.
We hope you continue to make use of the NERV Disaster Prevention app.
4.1.0
2022-09-12
This update provides support for iOS 16 Lock Screen Widgets.
The NERV Disaster Prevention app now supports widgets on the lock screen. See your location's current weather and temperature, weather warnings and advisories, sunrise and sunset times, and the day's min/max temperatures at a glance, without having to open the app!
Please note that Lock Screen Widgets only display information for your current location.
To our Supporters' Club members;
Our development team is able to conduct research and implement new features like these, thanks only to your support. The features we've been working on would not have been possible without your generosity. With each new feature or service that we add, our financial burden only increases. However, for the safety of everyone in Japan, we know that features and services like these are crucial in helping you to get the information you need, as soon as possible.
We're grateful for your continued support.
4.0.1
2022-09-08
In this update:
- Light theme weather icons are now coloured in widgets
- Improved the colour scheme of the light theme map
- Improved VoiceOver readouts
- Fixed an issue where the typhoon storm warning area is not displayed correctly
- Fixed the rain radar legend
We've received a wide range of feedback from our users since releasing the Accessibility Update. We're happy to see everyone making use of the new colour vision deficiency themes and the contrast, text, and screen reader settings. We hope you continue to support us in the future.
3.4.1
2022-08-05
In this update:
- Timeline has been improved so that the Typhoon map is also displayed on the Typhoon Information screen
- Minor bug fixes and improvements
- Colour scheme of river flood forecast
- Map compass position
- River name layer order
- Fix issue with notification language not being updated when switching devices
Our next major update is expected to drop support for iOS 12. The app development team is currently in the process of preparing for this update and is steadily implementing new features. We'll keep doing our best to contribute to information accessibility.
We're able to implement these new features thanks to our support members and many users. We'd like to thank you for your ongoing support. Please continue to support us in the future.
3.4.0
2022-06-30
In this update, the colour scheme of the Risk Distribution layer has been changed in line with updated JMA specifications.
Previously, the colour scheme followed: yellow (caution), red (warning), light purple (dangerous), and dark purple (very dangerous). With this update, light purple and dark purple have been merged into purple (dangerous) and a new level, black (emergency).
However, you may think that it wouldn't stand out if just the colour black were used in the NERV Disaster Prevention app, as the app's interface and maps are all black. The rationale for using black for evacuation and risk distribution information comes from the Cabinet Office's guidelines. Still, black is a poor match for our app. For this reason, we decided to use a dark purple with black stripes (or black with thick purple stripes, depending on your interpretation) to represent the "emergency" level.
As high temperatures continue day after day, we hope you're taking action to prevent the effects of heat stroke. Stay cool!
3.3.2
2022-06-16
This update contains the following;
- Changed the map engine and data source
- Fixed a problem where the seismic intensity list may not be displayed when the estimated seismic intensity distribution is displayed
We've replaced the map engine with one we've developed in-house. Most users won't notice a difference, but for us, this is something we've been working on for a long time. This results in much greater accuracy of place names and topography for the end-user. This initiative is an important basis for future updates and we hope you'll continue to support us as we plan an even bigger update, coming in September.
As the rainy season has now begun, please stay safe.
3.3.0
2022-04-29
This update adds Estimated Seismic Intensity Distribution!
Estimated Seismic Intensity Distribution is an area representation of seismic intensity observed by seismometers, using the ground amplification near the surface to estimate on a 1km mesh what intensities were observed, even in areas where there are no seismometers.
This is our first update in a while, as the development team has been busy with other projects over the last few months.
We hope you'll continue to support us.
3.2.1
2022-01-24
This update includes several bug fixes, including:
- Fixed Home and Timeline items for locations where "Estimated Intensity > 5 (Data not yet received)" wouldn't display correctly
- Fixed an overflow issue with the Ashfall forecast screen that would occur on some devices
Thank you for supporting the NERV Disaster Prevention app. If you'd like to report a bug you've found in the app, please don't hesitate to let us know via the Contact Us page in the Menu screen.
3.2.0
2021-12-24
This update features:
- Short-Period Snowfall Forecast
- Lightning Distribution layer bug fixes
Thank you for using the NERV Disaster Prevention app! While in the last update we said it would be "the last update of the year", due to forecast heavy snowfall between the 25th and 28th, we rushed to release this update to introduce Short-Period Snowfall Forecasts a little earlier than we had planned.
The Short-Period Snowfall Forecast allows you to view the current snow depth and snowfall distribution estimated hourly, as well as the forecast for the next 6 hours. It's available as part of the Snow layer on the Radar screen.
The area around Japan is expected to experience heavy snowfall, mainly on the Sea of Japan-side, from Northern to Western Japan due to a strong winter pressure pattern, from the 25th to the 28th. Please be careful around this time for heavy snowfall.
The winter holiday season is the most dangerous time of year for accidents and fires, so remember to be careful around this time as we all try to stay warm during these cold winter months.
3.0.3
2021-10-07
The NERV Disaster Prevention app is now available in English!
This update contains the following bug fixes;
- Fixed the header/navigation bar sometimes appearing incorrectly on iOS 15
- Fixes related to the radar/weather distribution screens
Don't hesitate to let us know if you find any bugs through the Contact Us page found in Menu.
3.0.2
2021-09-22
The NERV Disaster Prevention app is now available in English!
This update contains the following features and fixes;
- Added Support for iOS 15
- Fixed several bugs related to Notifications
- Fixed the display of the location name on the Typhoon page
Don't hesitate to let us know if you find any bugs through the Contact Us page found in Menu.