The new earthquake early warning system in China includes over 15,000 monitoring stations, providing information to a large number of users within one second.
The construction of the main component of the new earthquake early warning system in China has been completed. Min Yiren, Director of the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), stated that the finalization and acceptance of the project is expected to occur by the end of this year, as reported by CGTN on June 8.
China has been developing its earthquake early warning system since the 1990s and established an instant seismic intensity reporting system in several high-risk areas in 2018. Their goal is to notify the community of impending earthquakes a few seconds in advance and report the seismic intensity of earthquakes within one minute after they occur. According to Min, this is the largest earthquake early warning system in the world, significantly reducing the time to gather information from one minute to just a few seconds after an earthquake strikes.
According to a study published in the Northwestern Seismological journal in 2002, knowing about an earthquake 3 seconds in advance can save 14% of victims, 10 seconds can save 39%, and 20 seconds can save 63%. To minimize earthquake damage, the system can send alerts through various devices, including TVs, mobile phones, radios, and multiple other warning channels.
Currently, the system comprises over 15,000 monitoring stations, three national centers, 31 provincial centers, and 173 district-level reporting centers. Early warning testing for the community is being conducted in several earthquake-prone areas, including Sichuan and Yunnan in the southwest, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hubei in the north, and Fujian Province in the east. Min shared that the system has overcome several technical challenges, such as integrating multiple networks and providing information to a large number of users within one second.
