Detecting earthquakes with your smartphone

When the earth starts shaking, every second counts, reports Deutsche Welle. A new smartphone app could help provide advance warning of earthquakes. The app could prove especially helpful in countries lacking early warning systems. Nepal and surrounding countries were wholly unprepared for the earthquake that hit on April 25, 2015. It had a magnitude of 7.8 - the strongest earthquake Nepal had experienced in more than 80 years.

More than half a million houses and flats were destroyed, and at least 9.000 people died. When the earth starts shaking, a few seconds make the difference between life and death. "Five to ten seconds prove to be a significant amount of warning time", says Louis Schreier to DW. In addition to getting outdoors away from crumbling buildings, "you can warn hospitals, prepare first responders; these seconds are really critical to saving lives."