The construction of China’s Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) has been completed, according to an announcement made by the head of the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), Min Yiren, on Thursday June 8th. The system is expected to be fully functional by the end of this year. It has been tagged as the world’s largest EEWS covering more than 15,000 monitoring stations, three national centers, 31 provincial centers, and 173 prefectural and municipal information release centers. The EEWS is not meant to predict the occurrence of an earthquake. Instead, it can detect slight ground motion, which is when an earthquake begins to develop, and immediately sends a signal to the data processing centers.
Based on the data received, advanced algorithms can determine the earthquake’s location and magnitude. Alerts can thus be sent across cities and towns, which would offer a few seconds notice, which in the event of an earthquake can be crucial. “With an early warning of several seconds to 60 seconds, the death toll in an earthquake can be reduced by 30%,” Wang Tun, head of a key earthquake early warning laboratory in China’s Sichuan Province, told Global Times.
According to CGTN news, China has carried out the construction of an earthquake early warning system since the 1990s and started building its earthquake early warning and instant seismic intensity reporting system in several high-stakes regions in 2018. The system aims to inform the public of upcoming earthquakes with a countdown in seconds and report the seismic intensity of an earthquake within a minute of its occurrence.
With an early warning of 60 seconds, the death toll in an earthquake can be reduced by 30%.
Wang Tun, head of early warning laboratory, Sichuan Province
Research published by the Northwestern Seismological Journal in 2002 showed that being aware of an earthquake three seconds ahead can save 14 percent of casualties, 10 seconds can save 39% of casualties and 20 seconds can save 63% of casualties. Expected to boost quake mitigation, the system can send alerts through various devices, including TVs, mobile phones, broadcasts and other warning terminals.
At a press conference held on June 8th, Yiren stated that the system is the world’s largest earthquake early warning system, making a leap in shortening the delivery of earthquake information from a minute to a few seconds after an earthquake starts.
A trial operation for public early warning services has been available in some of its quake-prone areas, including southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunan provinces, north China’s Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Hebei Province, and east China’s Fujian Province, as reported by CGTN. Yiren underlined that the system has overcome several technical problems, such as multi-network integration and information release to massive users within one second.
