China building world’s largest earthquake warning system

BEIJING: China is building the world's largest and most advanced earthquake alert system which is set to be completed in 2022.

Engineers are setting up more than 15,000 sensors all over the country and wiring them into a web.

When an earthquake happens, the sensors can send electrical pulses to the control center and then ordinary people's smartphones, according to China Television Network (CGTN) on Tuesday.

The signal travels at (almost) light speed and is much faster than the devastating earthquake shaking, giving local people a little bit time to prepare.

The system can send messages to people less than two seconds after the earthquake happens. So the time between the warning and the actual impact might only be seconds or a minute.

But it's proved to be life-saving because of every second matter in this situation.

Similar systems can be found in other earthquake-prone places including Japan and US west coast.

But China's system can be more advanced in many ways.

"It will be the largest earthquake observation network in the world," said Li Shanyou, deputy chief engineer of the system.

The system can not only detect the movement of the continents but also calculate the possible impact of an earthquake. So it will automatically warn local people, making it much faster than human observation. The system, overseen by China’s Ministry of Emergency Management, is set to be completed in 2022.