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STAYING SAFE
When you ask most people about the benefits of apps on their smartphone, they say they use them to play games, surf the net, keep in touch with people and organise social events. But Jenny Harlow, a scientist from London, has got an app that does something much more important: it warns her when she is in danger. The app is called Safety Tips and it gives users real-time earthquake and tsunami warnings.
The Japan Tourist Agency had the idea for the app after the 2011 earthquake in Japan, when many foreign tourists in the country were confused about what was happening and what they should do. Jenny was on a business trip to Japan when the earthquake struck. 'Although there are a lot of earthquakes in Japan, it was the first time I experienced one.
All the warnings and information on the internet, radio and TV were in Japanese, and I couldn't understand. It was really confusing and I didn't know what to do.' She had to rely on Japanese colleagues to help her.
The Safety Tips app sends an alert to users when a major earthquake happens, and also tells them if a tsunami is likely to arrive at the coast. The app gives lots of tips about what to do, where to go and how to stay safe, as well as a list of useful Japanese phrases such as 'Is this an earthquake? and 'is it safe here? Importantly, all the information is in English, and there are plans to add other languages. The Japan Tourist Agency plans to advertise the app at airports and tourist information centers in Japan. In order to get the app, people visit a website and download it. I am coming to Japan again next year and I will definitely watch out for alerts from the app, says Jenny.
