For the first time in India, an earthquake early warning system has been installed in Uttarakhand, where researchers have predicted an earthquake of magnitude 8 or greater. It will issue warnings 1-40 seconds before earthquakes of magnitude 5 occur.

The system, made by Space Dynamics, an Italian firm, has already been installed in Japan, Italy and the U.S. “The company says the system installed in Uttarakhand has the earliest detection among those currently in use worldwide”. The first system has been installed in Dehradun, and the second will be established at Pithoragarh in the Kumaon region.

Random Facts About Earthquakes

• The earth’s surface consists of 20 constantly moving plates and majority of naturally-occurring earthquakes are triggered by movement of the earth’s plates.
• Earthquakes kill approximately 8,000 people each year.
• Parkfield, California, is known as “The Earthquake Capital of the World” and has a bridge that spans two tectonic plates.
• The “focus” or “hypocenter” is the earthquake’s initial point of rupture. Its “epicenter” is the point at ground level above the hypocenter.
• More earthquakes happen in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere.
• The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake lasted nearly 10 minutes—the longest on record.
• An earthquake on the moon is called a moonquake. Moonquakes are normally weaker than earthquakes.
• Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone nations in the world. Thousands of earthquakes occur in Japan every year, but most of them are very weak.