India: IIT Roorkee’s new warning system claims to alert before earthquake strikes

Source(s): The Indian Express

By PTI

Scientists at [the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)] Roorkee claim to have developed an earthquake early warning system that can alert people up to a minute before the quake strikes.

The system, already deployed in some areas of Uttarakhand, consists of a network of sensors that detect different types of seismic waves travelling through the layers of the Earth after a quake.

[...]

[Mukat Lal Sharma, a professor at IIT Roorkee] said that for a quake originating due to tectonic plate movements in the Himalayan region, people in Dehradun will get a warning 11 seconds before the tremors, while those in New Delhi will have a longer lead time of about a minute.

While this may not be enough to completely evacuate buildings, such warnings can at least allow people to take cover and protect themselves from fatal injuries, Sharma said on the sidelines of the 16th Symposium of Earthquake Engineering held at IIT Roorkee.

[...]

After conducting the research with the sensors for over two years in Uttarakhand, a system of sirens too have been deployed in the area last year that can alert people up to 200 metres away.

[...]

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Hazards Earthquake
Themes Early warning
Country and region India
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