Tittle: How Do Earthquake Early Warning Systems Work?
By: Jane J. Lee
From this article I learn about a public earthquake warning system could be used to reduce damages and injuries on services like BART commuter trains in California.Earthquakes seem to come out of nowhere and can cause widespread devastation.governments in some earthquake-prone countries, including Japan and Mexico, institute early warning systems to alert the public to expect potentially hazardous shaking.
The reason why I choice this article because I want to know about how can you have an early warning system for something no one can predict?We're predicting the shaking that comes from when the earthquake ruptures. So basically, an earthquake has already started.People think of an earthquake as being an instantaneous occurrence. It's not. We're talking about tens of seconds. The best case on the U.S. West Coast, in California, you could have up to a minute of warning. If you're in Seattle, you could have up to five minutes.It's because bigger earthquakes rupture over a much larger area, and it takes time for that earthquake to propagate over the area. And that gives more time for warnings.The shaking at the epicenter occurs about a second after the P waves. If you're right at the epicenter, you probably will not get a warning.
I wonder what can I do with a few seconds of warning? What would an early warning system look like in California? And how much would the entire system cost? early warning is that you can get under a sturdy table before the shaking begins. It's about getting mentally ready for the shaking, and then essentially waiting for the earthquake to pass.there are about 75 BART trains running. Each train is carrying about a thousand people. At any given point there are about 45 trains traveling at 70 miles per hour [113 kilometers per hour].a federation of groups that run the seismic network in the state—have been working on developing a proof of concept of an early warning system. The cost of building and operating this system for the first five years is about $80 million in California. If you wanted to do this for the West Coast as a whole, it would be $120 million for the first five years.
What would an early warning system look like in California?
How much would the entire system cost?
By: Jane J. Lee
From this article I learn about a public earthquake warning system could be used to reduce damages and injuries on services like BART commuter trains in California.Earthquakes seem to come out of nowhere and can cause widespread devastation.governments in some earthquake-prone countries, including Japan and Mexico, institute early warning systems to alert the public to expect potentially hazardous shaking.
The reason why I choice this article because I want to know about how can you have an early warning system for something no one can predict?We're predicting the shaking that comes from when the earthquake ruptures. So basically, an earthquake has already started.People think of an earthquake as being an instantaneous occurrence. It's not. We're talking about tens of seconds. The best case on the U.S. West Coast, in California, you could have up to a minute of warning. If you're in Seattle, you could have up to five minutes.It's because bigger earthquakes rupture over a much larger area, and it takes time for that earthquake to propagate over the area. And that gives more time for warnings.The shaking at the epicenter occurs about a second after the P waves. If you're right at the epicenter, you probably will not get a warning.
I wonder what can I do with a few seconds of warning? What would an early warning system look like in California? And how much would the entire system cost? early warning is that you can get under a sturdy table before the shaking begins. It's about getting mentally ready for the shaking, and then essentially waiting for the earthquake to pass.there are about 75 BART trains running. Each train is carrying about a thousand people. At any given point there are about 45 trains traveling at 70 miles per hour [113 kilometers per hour].a federation of groups that run the seismic network in the state—have been working on developing a proof of concept of an early warning system. The cost of building and operating this system for the first five years is about $80 million in California. If you wanted to do this for the West Coast as a whole, it would be $120 million for the first five years.
What would an early warning system look like in California?
How much would the entire system cost?