China Lacks Earthquake Early-Warning System

May 15, 2008 — -- The death of thousands of people following Monday's earthquake in Sichuan, China, has once again called attention to the need for technology that provides better warning of such devastating natural events. While China lacks an earthquake early-warning system, it is hardly unique. Such systems are still very much works in progress: Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan are deploying them, but most other nations, including the United States, are still in the research stages, says a leading seismologist, Haroo Kanamori.

Earthquake alert systems furnish only a few seconds of warning, but that can be enough time for people to take protective measures. And more research and investment would improve the systems' speed and the efficiency with which the warnings are distributed, Kanamori says.

The principle behind earthquake early warnings is fairly straightforward. Earthquakes begin with tremors called P-waves that have short wavelengths and generally do little damage; they may not even be felt by humans. Seconds later--the exact number of seconds depends on distance from the quake's epicenter---longer-wavelength tremors known as S-waves arrive and inflict damage as they shake buildings and landmasses. Early-warning systems consist of seismographs that detect the P-waves and send out electronic alerts. Networks of such sensors improve the accuracy of the systems.

In general, such systems are in their infancy, says Kanamori, a Caltech professor emeritus of geophysics and former director of Caltech's seismological laboratory. "It's really exploratory right now, but this is the only way at this moment to make some kind of prediction of what is going to happen in the short term," he says.

Japan has the most advanced earthquake early-warning system in the world; last October, it launched a system that delivers earthquake warnings via mass media, including television and the Internet. Japan had long used a system specifically geared to notifying and slowing down its bullet trains; the new system is intended to enable countermeasures by the general public, including clearing out elevators, taking cover under desks, or moving away from rocky walls. A few seconds' warning could also save lives on construction sites, allowing, for example, workers to grip girders or move cranes to safer positions. Taiwan and Mexico are developing similar systems; seven or eight other countries are researching them, says Kanamori.