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Photo: Secty Electronics

In 2007, Japanese officials were able to mitigate damage from the six-point Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake when an early warning system granted them 52 critical seconds to signal an alarm that stopped trains and elevators and sent schoolchildren scrambling beneath their desks. In an earthquake, even a few seconds' advance warning can mean the difference between life and death.

Millions of people who live in earthquake-prone areas that lack such sophisticated warning systems are more likely to be taken by surprise, however. Researchers say the danger from earthquakes is growing – not because quakes are getting stronger, but because more people than ever before are concentrated near fault lines, especially in developing countries.

The German firm Secty Electronics has developed an earthquake early warning system that is now on the market for private and commercial users. is Already in use in seismic hotspots from the Kölner Bucht to the Hindukush, the compact and relatively inexpensive “lifePatron” system may someday become a sophisticated compliment to the fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors that make up the basic safety features in homes and other buildings.

Developed by Secty Electronics in close cooperation with the GFZ geology research center in Potsdam, the technology uses seismic sensors to detect the harmless P-waves that travel in advance of more destructive S-waves. Just as the flash of lightening is visible before the boom of thunder, these minute vibrations travel at about twice the speed of ground-shaking S-waves, providing up to a minute or more of advance warning.

“Right now, people affected by an earthquake do not even have a second to respond, they are confronted directly by the full force of nature,” says Secty managing director Jürgen Przybylak. “Our system allows people to take action,” he explains. Even a few seconds allows people to enact a planned earthquake response that could save their lives, such as standing under a doorway or table or evacuating a building.

Destroying buildings is often just the beginning of the havoc that earthquakes can wreak. Fires from broken gas and electrical lines and wrecked infrastructure often amplify the damage from quakes. To prevent this kind of secondary damage, the lifePatron can be integrated into building control mechanisms to automatically shut off gas, water and electricity before an earthquake strikes. It can also activate emergency doors and lights, stop elevators and escalators or even trigger traffic lights to close bridges and tunnels.

A stand alone unit with its own emergency power supply and two sirens is available for 1,450 euros, and more complex systems can be tailored for larger buildings, such as high-rises, hospitals or industrial buildings.

Early adopters of the new technology include many organizations providing critical services in isolated areas. The German hunger-relief NGO Welthungerhilfe had a system installed in its Kabul offices in 2006 and a hospital in the Pakistani city of Bagh has also received a one.

According to Przybylak, Bagh is about 90 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake that rocked the Kashmir region in October 2005. “At that distance, you would have an advance warning of 16-20 seconds. That’s all the time it takes to save a life.”

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The Week in Germany: Business, Technology and the Environment
January 25, 2008
 
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