Citizen scientists could be the key to an earthquake early warning system

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Raj Prasana holds one of the low-cost earthquake sensors under trial for the new project.

Scientists are calling the public to become citizen seismologists to test a low-cost earthquake early warning system in the community.

Led by the Joint Disaster Research Center at Massey University and co-funded by the university and the Earthquake Commission (EQC), scientists will test a network of sensors installed in community-owned buildings.

There is currently no earthquake early warning system in New Zealand, and this project hopes to build on existing systems such as Geonet, which provided information after the earthquakes.

Senior researcher Raj Prasana of Massey University said the project is still in the feasibility study stage, but they have been experimenting with a number of low-cost seismometers in the lab.

Read more: * Social media can be a key factor in warning people when the next earthquake strikes * Scientists are considering an earthquake warning system to help Kiwis prepare for the earthquake * Tsunami Indonesia: A faltering warning system may save lives

Rosa Woods / Staff

Wellington has a lot of earthquake / tsunami prone areas, such as State Highway 1 between Wellington and Lower Hutt, which can get blocked by slipping. (File photo)

He said New Zealand is “completely unique,” but it bears similarities with Taiwan, the United States, Japan and Mexico, all of which have early warning solutions that involve the community.

Residents’ concerns were about how little the warning time the system would save – only about 10 seconds. The sensors will pick up the first jolts, and are intended to notify the community before damaging waves reach them.

“But [the residents] You have the question, what can we do with this information? “

He said that would give them, at the very least, time to drop, cover, and hold. “It might be helpful to stop the train or stop the elevator.”

After meetings in Wellington, Orewa and Nelson, the research team shared ideas with residents in Lower Hut on Friday.

Prasana’s team tested a number of ready-made, low-cost sensors in the lab and had hoped to begin installing approximately 20-25 sensors in the middle of the year for field trials.

Once installed, the sensors will be connected via internet, and if damaged, will be automatically adapted perfectly to reconnect the remaining sensors if power is still available.

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Prasana, left, says that society’s concerns have mostly revolved around the effectiveness of this small warning time – just around 10 seconds.

Prasana said the workshops were vital to knowing what the community wanted.

Did people want a warning about every earthquake or just a big earthquake? How much would people be willing to pay for a sensor? Would they be prepared to put one in their homes?

The study began early last year, but interactions with Covid-19 have been limited.

Further meetings were planned in Seddon, Eastbourne, and Kāpiti, with EQC drawing on existing contacts through other research.

Practitioners, experts, scientists and manufacturers who wanted to participate can email Prasanna directly at [email protected] or contact via the website.

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