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IIT Roorkee’s new warning system to alert before earthquake strikes
Why is it in news?
- Scientists at IIT Roorkee claim to have developed an earthquake early warning system that can alert people up to a minute before the quake strikes.
More in news
- 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.
- Technique:
- Current techniques of earthquake try to predict it using statistical methods, but none of the methods known yet are accurate enough.
- However, the earthquake early warning system can give people a lead time ranging from 10 seconds to a minute.
- Timing:
- 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.
- Is this small margin of time will be helpful?
- 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.
- Other precautions like switching off nuclear power plants, stopping metro trains, and cutting off gas supply etc, can be taken care of with a minute’s warning.
- Activation of system: The earthquake warning system will be activated if the tremor has a magnitude of more than 6.
- Cost:
- The sensors, costing Rs 1.5 lakh each, are being currently imported from the US, but India has successfully developed an indigenous version that could be made available for Rs 50,000.
- At least 6,000 sensors would be required to set up the system across north India — a region that is at maximum risk of quakes from the Himalayan region.
Source
Indian express