July 2006

RESCUE exploring ways to disseminate earthquake warning information. Goal is to save lives. In 2003, Japanese television broadcast a 30-second earthquake early warning to the public. (An earthquake early warning system begins after an earthquake has begun.) For years, Mexico has used an earthquake early warning system. But not the U.S. That’s right; there’s no system in place in the U.S. that disseminates impending earthquake information to the public – even though seismologists have discovered a way to provide tens of seconds of warning after a quake rupture begins but before the shaking has extended a significant distance from the epicenter. If, for example, a rupture were to occur at the extreme northern end of the San Andreas fault, it could take 80 seconds for the effects of the earthquake to reach San Francisco. A rapid warning system could save lives.

RESCUE sponsored an Earthquake Information Dissemination Workshop on May 26 to discuss the need for a warning or customized dissemination system. Attendees included earthquake scientists, social scientists/policy experts and emergency managers. We learned that there could well be sufficient time for school administrators, homeowners and businesses to take action to reduce potential injuries caused by an earthquake if timely warning were provided.

To address our nation’s lack of “push” early warning alerts to schools, businesses and homes RESCUE’s Customized Dissemination in the Large project is focusing on how to provide information that’s disseminated to the public at large, specifically to encourage self-protective actions such as evacuation from endangered areas. In addition to early warning for earthquakes, our system will also be able to provide rapid, customizable alerts for tornadoes, fires, floods and other emergencies. Then, after the disaster hits, the system will deliver useful information in the immediate minutes and hours after the event.

We’re developing innovative technologies that can be integrated into each school or organization's response plan to provide a fast (flash) dissemination of accurate and timely information by using an innovative peer-to-peer technology and by providing different ways of delivering messages (over the phone, the PDA or the computer). This dissemination will suit the needs of each recipient by sending warning and useful information to those who are actually at risk (or likely to be), while providing reassuring information to those who are not at risk and therefore do not need to take self-protective action.

For more information on our customized dissemination project, please contact Prof. Nalini Venkatasubramanian at nalini@ics.uci.edu.