OREANDA-NEWS. February 24, 2012. NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that tsunami warnings issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency will be transmitted to customers’ mobile devices via DOCOMO’s Early Warning “Area Mail™” disaster information service beginning February 24.

Early Warning “Area Mail,” a Japanese-only service, promptly relays early warnings of strong earthquakes from the Japan Meteorological Agency, and also disaster and evacuation information issued by national and regional public institutions. The agency issues the warnings after special sensors detect signs of imminent seismic activity in a given area. Early Warning “Area Mail” is specially configured to immediately transmit warnings to mobile devices in the area with little or no effect from network congestion.

DOCOMO has established new disaster-preparedness measures in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, including procedures to restore communication services as fast as possible to help ensure that customers have access to mobile communication following a disaster. By including tsunami warnings (in Japanese only) in its Early Warning “Area Mail” service, DOCOMO hopes to provide customers with enhanced levels of safety and security during disasters.

No monthly charge or communications charges are required to receive the service. Devices that already receive Early Warning “Area Mail” notifications will receive tsunami warnings automatically. Message-reception settings for 905i, 906i, 705i and 706i series devices must be manually configured to use the service.