Japan is gearing to get earthquake warning system on from this coming Monday. The warning system will issue warning of a probable earthquake just seconds before the tremor hits the place and its surroundings. Is it worth going ahead?
Japan has come up with a scientific system of earthquake warning seconds before a tremor hits.
Being so vulnerable to quakes for its location, Japan has suffered a lot at the hands of massive earthquakes that bulldozed huge buildings, highways and pathways.
Lakhs of lives have been lost. Seeing such a havoc that quakes wreak in the country, Japan has now decided to install an earthquake warning system, which can be effective only for areas surrounding the epicenter and not the region above the focus.
It is surmised that thousands of lives can be saved in this way, if the people come to know about a quake happening in their surroundings.
But, earthquake warnings have not worked so far, as it is not possible to know when a quake will occur. It is only the changes beneath the earth that can be recorded in the seismometer just seconds before the seismic waves start their course of destruction.
An earthquake occurs when seismic plates collide, subduct, diverge or move past each other.
In the case of Japan, its location in the most versatile and fragile zones of the earth, the Circum-Pacific Belt, calls for serious damage.
Also, the onshore areas of the country are even more vulnerable to natural disasters as earthquake generated Tsunamis.
Therefore, it becomes imperative that such a system be devised that can warn of the forthcoming disaster.
The newly devised earthquake warning system, the first of its kind in the world, is one such development in this regard, which will start showing weird movements when a tremor is about to take place and send signals to the Japanese radio and TV stations that can then transmit the warning to the general public.
The system, though worthy of acclaim, can also create panic for those who receive the warning and those who cannot.
An accurate warning system is the need of the day that can easily reach all and sundry and not simply a few among the masses.
Yet, nature has its own role to play, therefore we cannot stop earthquakes from happening, but even a minimal damage control effort like the quake warning system can save hundreds of thousands of lives, especially in a country like Japan where quakes are a reurrent.
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Source: Reuters
