Early warning system

The early warning system utilizes shock waves produced by the earthquake

THE EARTHQUAKE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM.
As part of BC Shake-Out on October 15, Dr Carlos Ventura gave a short presentation at Vancouver Public Library Central Branch about the earthquake early warning system developed at the University of British Columbia. He also talked about the nature of earthquakes and what is being done to ensure that the buildings where we live, study and work are earthquake-ready. The early warning system utilizes shock waves produced by the earthquake, four main types of waves within the two categories of fast and slower waves:

• Fast propagating primary waves (P-waves, which do little damage)
• Slower propagating shear waves (S-waves, which do the most damage by shaking back and forty)

Buried sensors send data to computers at UBC’s Earthquake Engineering Research Facility for analysis to see if it indicates that a major earthquake is eminent. The sensors were placed at 50 schools of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in the Vancouver area. If a significant earthquake is detected, a signal will be sent to these schools.

For more information see
http://news.ubc.ca/2013/10/15/get-ready-for-the-big-one/
http://news.ubc.ca/2015/10/14/ubc-expert-helps-b-c-prepare-for-an-earthquake/