backtop


Print E-mail del.icio.us 8 comment(s) - last by onwisconsin.. on Aug 10 at 3:31 PM

Do earthquake warning systems work?

On August 8th 2008 a magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture at 12:57PM. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Japan's Meteorological Agency said the earthquake struck the Tama area of western Tokyo and that there was no danger of tsunamis from the quake. According to NHK Japan’s national broadcaster several trains halted briefly after it hit. A magnitude 4 earthquake can cause moderate damage to buildings.

In my time in Japan I’ve experienced several earthquakes, but this was the first one while inside a skyscraper. First the earthquake hit giving the building a strong jolt shaking all the equipment around me. When an earthquake hits you realize you are essentially powerless and all you can do is ride it out. The swaying of the building subsided after an uncomfortable minute or two. If there is no announcement from facility management to vacate the premises everyone goes back to work like nothing happened. I guess to the Japanese earthquakes are like cold weather to a Canadian. Nothing special. Despite having television news feeds from multiple sources all around me there was no warning what so ever.

This experience prompted me to do research in to what kind of Earthquake Warning System Japan has. By chance on October 1st 2007 the Japan Meteorological Agency had implemented the Earthquake Early Warning System or Kinkyu Jishin Sokuho in Japanese. The Earthquake Early Warning system provides advance announcement through media such as television and radio. Information such as estimated intensity and expected arrival time of the earthquake is provided. Whether today’s earthquake was too small to initiate a warning from the system I’m not sure. Even if a warning is generated it appears you only have seconds to do anything. In the future I wonder if the warning system will save us if “The Big One” were to hit.



Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

I beg to differ
By HaZaRd2K6 on 8/8/2008 4:06:17 PM , Rating: 2
> "I guess to the Japanese earthquakes are like cold weather to a Canadian. Nothing special."

This past winter was very cold. Yes, it's not special that it is cold, but sometimes, the cold is especially frigid. This year was one of those years.




RE: I beg to differ
By omnicronx on 8/8/2008 4:31:25 PM , Rating: 2
Actually it wasn't cold at all this year.. it just snowed a lot, I think the snowfall record was broken in many provinces.
I guess this makes sense though, as it has to be close to 0 in order to snow in most cases.. 2 years ago it barely snowed at all, but we had many days where it was -20 to -30.


RE: I beg to differ
By HaZaRd2K6 on 8/8/2008 4:56:40 PM , Rating: 2
Well I suppose that depends what part you're from. The first half of the winter (late 2007) was very cold, but the latter half (early 2008) was just purely snowfall.

Sometimes I kinda welcome global warming... usually in the depths of winter.


RE: I beg to differ
By Polynikes on 8/8/2008 8:28:23 PM , Rating: 2
Must be global warming. ;)


RE: I beg to differ
By HaZaRd2K6 on 8/8/2008 9:54:44 PM , Rating: 3
Yeah, that pile of global warming was at the side of my driveway until May.


RE: I beg to differ
By onwisconsin on 8/10/2008 3:31:59 PM , Rating: 2
And it lasted into April too. It was the winter that never ended...until May...


No it won't save you.
By SilthDraeth on 8/8/2008 3:03:57 PM , Rating: 3
You have the long term warning already. It is called living in, or being in an area that is known to have frequent earthquakes.

Just recently we have a 4.8 or 5 something quake hit Southern California. The town I live in was several hundred miles away. We felt it seconds after the epicenter.

An early warning system is nothing more than a gimmick...at least the warning part is.




RE: No it won't save you.
By GaryJohnson on 8/9/2008 11:27:09 PM , Rating: 2
That was a fast earthquake! If you were at least 300 miles away (several hundread?) and the ground between you and the epicenter was at least as dense as granite then the quake shouldn't have hit you for at least a minute and a half.


"We can't expect users to use common sense. That would eliminate the need for all sorts of legislation, committee's, oversight and lawyers." -- Christopher Jennings



Latest Headlines
Jason's Holiday Gift Guide
December 1, 2008, 7:13 PM
Michelin Reinvents the Wheel
December 1, 2008, 2:39 PM
Nikon Unveils New D3X D-SLR Camera
December 1, 2008, 12:05 PM










botimage
Copyright 2008 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki