What do Japan's Alert Levels 1 to 5 mean?
Since 29 May 2026 the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) names every heavy-rain, flood, landslide and storm-surge warning with its Alert Level. Level 5 is an Emergency Warning (a disaster is happening), Level 4 is an Urgent Warning (everyone in the at-risk area must leave), Level 3 is a Warning (people who need time should start evacuating), Level 2 is an Advisory, and Level 1 is early information that a warning-level event may come within days.
The five levels
| Level | What JMA issues | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Emergency Warning | A disaster is already happening or is certain. Protect your life with whatever is around you: an upper floor, away from windows or slopes. |
| 4 | Urgent Warning (shown as "Danger Warning" in some apps and translations) | Everyone in the at-risk area must leave now. Cities issue an Evacuation Order at this level. |
| 3 | Warning | People who need more time (elderly, disabled, families with small children) start evacuating. Everyone else prepares. |
| 2 | Advisory | Check where you would go and how. |
| 1 | Early information (sōki chūi jōhō) | A warning-level event may come within days. Watch the forecasts. |
JMA's own words
An Emergency Warning signals the significant likelihood of catastrophes in association with natural phenomena of extraordinary magnitude
, of a scale observed only once every few decades
. JMA's instruction: Take all steps possible to protect yourself if an Emergency Warning is issued.
The one rule
At Level 4, leave the at-risk area. Do not wait for Level 5. Level 5 means the disaster has started; by then travel through it is dangerous.
Which warnings carry a level
Heavy rain, river flooding, landslides and storm surge. Other warnings (storm, snowstorm, heavy snow, high waves) still use the three tiers Advisory, Warning and Emergency Warning.
Level 1 has no official English name on JMA's English pages at the time of writing; the description is a paraphrase.
The live warnings, in your language
Japan Disaster Guide is a free iPhone app that delivers JMA warnings for the places you save, after JMA confirms them, in 7 languages, with 115,000+ evacuation sites on a map.
Free on the App Store See the Japan Travel Safety KitThe full procedures, the 119 script, shelter life, the 171 steps, 21 pointing cards and the worksheets are in the Japan Travel Safety Manual, a 66-page PDF made to read on a phone.
Get the manual ($9.99 PDF)- Japan Meteorological Agency, Emergency Warning System (English). https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Emergency_Warning/ew_index.html
- Japan Meteorological Agency, notice of 27 May 2026 on the start of the new disaster weather information (Japanese, PDF). https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2605/27a/teikyoukaishi.pdf
Japan Disaster Guide is an independent app. It is not affiliated with the Japan Meteorological Agency or any government body. In an emergency, follow the instructions of local officials.
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