Earthquake Alert System for Android in India

Earthquake is a natural disaster and hence can’t be avoided. The only option left with us is to be prepared to tackle this. To be prepare for the earthquake, Google launched its earthquake alert system in India for Android phones. This system warns you by sensing the tremors before it actually hit you. To know more about this system, check our YouTube video, “Earthquake Alert System For Android In India”.

Google has launched this alert system in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority and the National Seismology Center. It uses the accelerometer of your phone to sense the first signs of an earthquake and thus sends you an alert for the same.

Causes of Earthquake:

Earthquake is caused due to the movement of tectonic plates of the earth. When these plates move from their actual place they strike each other and release energy which is travelled in all directions in the form of waves. The point of the earthquake’s origin is called the focus point or hypocenter. While the surface on earth where you experience it, is called epicenter where you experience the waves foremost.

Effects of an Earthquake:

Earthquake causes a lot of damage and their effects stays for a long time period. Some of the major effects of Earthquake are given below:

• Shaking of ground that leads to the collapse of infrastructure,
• Causes disparity in ground settlement,
• Leads to natural disasters like tsunamis, landslides, mudslides, and avalanches.
• Further leads to soil liquefaction,
• Lurching of Ground and its displacement,
• Floods and forest fires.

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Earthquake Forecasting:

The exact date, time, and place of an Earthquake can never be predicted but we can forecast about the same. Seismologists can forecast the risk associated with the earthquake along with the frequency and its magnitude. This forecast helps in the preparedness and hence helps in evacuating people from an expected destruction site. Hence reduces the cases of mortality.

Earthquake Preparedness:

It is quite important to be prepared to tackle the effects of earthquakes. Hence, the government always tries to educate people about earthquakes and how they can save themselves from their ill effects. Following this, engineers and scientists are also trying to introduce such practices in building infrastructure that can resist the tremors hence helping in less destruction. Some of the things that people should do to reduce the damages caused are:

• Use seismic retrofitting in existing buildings to increase the protection against tremors.
• Builders should get earthquake insurance for their buildings to avoid financial losses caused by the disaster.
• People should use emergency management tactics to prevent losses.
• Builders should ask the experts to evaluate the structures of the buildings to design earthquake-resistant buildings.
• People should be taught what they should do when the shaking of the earth’s surface begins.

Hence, follow the steps given below and stay safe from the disasters.