Tremors reveal gaps in emergency alert system

Subject : Geography

Section: Physical geography

Context:

When tremors hit Delhi and surrounding areas following the 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Nepal and the 5.6 magnitude aftershock, the government and private early alert systems did not reach many of the people who could feel palpable tremors.

Emergency alert systems:

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)’s Cell Broadcast Alert System (CBAS):
- A joint effort of the Department of Telecommunication (DOT) and
- It represents a cutting-edge technology that empowers us to disseminate critical and time-sensitive disaster management messages to all mobile devices within specified geographical areas, regardless of whether the recipients are residents or visitors.
- This ensures that crucial emergency information reaches as many individuals as possible promptly.
- Government agencies and emergency services employ Cell Broadcasts to keep the public informed about potential threats and to provide vital updates during critical situations.
- Common applications of Cell Broadcast include delivering emergency alerts such as severe weather warnings (eg, Tsunamis, Flash Floods, Earthquakes), public safety messages, evacuation notices, and other critical information.
Google’s Android Earthquake Early Warning System:
- It is a free service that detects earthquakes around the world and can alert Android users before shaking starts.
- To receive alerts, users must have Wi-Fi and/or cellular data connectivity, and both Android Earthquake Alerts and location settings enabled.
The gov.in website operated by the Ministry of Earth Science’s National Centre for Seismology crashed moments after the tremors.

Measurement of the earthquake:

Richter Scale:
- This scale, developed by Charles Richter, measures the magnitude of the energy released during the Earthquake.
- This scale is open-ended i.e. there is not any end of the scale but, it has never measured any Earthquake of magnitude greater than 8.9.
- The Richter scale, in nature, is logarithmic based on 10.

Mercalli Scale:
- The Mercalli Intensity Scale, developed by Giuseppe Mercalli, and expanded to include 12 degrees of intensity by Adolfo Can It was further modified again by Harry O. Wood and Frank Neumann and is today known as the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.
- It measures the intensity of an earthquake based on its actual impacts on people, the environment and the Earth’s surface.
- It is a closed-ended linear Scale, scaled from 1-12 or I-XII with zero effect in the Intensity 1 Earthquake and total destruction in the Intensity 12 Earthquake.

Source of this article: The Hindu