Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA), an undertaking of the state disaster management department, is exploring the possibility of installing early earthquake warning equipment to mitigate damage to life and property in case of tremors.
German firm Secty Electronics made a presentation on Secty lifePatron - an onsite early earthquake warning and security system - before senior officials and experts at BSDMA on Friday.
Juergen Przybylak, managing director of the firm, claimed the equipment can give an alert for a secondary earthquake wave, 8-12 seconds in advance if the epicentre of the same is within a 40km radius. The alert is based on primary earthquake wave and is issued within 0.15 seconds of the primary wave.
Primary wave is the first set of energy released when two geological plates rupture under the earth's surface, leading to an earthquake. Primary wave, the fastest kind of seismic wave, travels mostly vertically but causes less destruction. Secondary waves on the other hand, are slower, move horizontally and cause more damage.
Japan's early warning network brings bullet trains to a halt, automatically alerts schools and sends warnings to the public via cellphone.
"Eight to twelve seconds is a good enough time to mitigate damage in terms of life and property," Juergen said.
Experts at BSDMA said as of now there is no technology to predict earthquakes. An onsite early warning system like Secty lifePatron gives alerts for only the secondary waves.
"Secty lifePatron has been installed in 26 countries. The first unit of Secty lifePatron in India was installed on a pilot basis in Haryana's new secretariat building in Chandigarh for free. Thereafter, it was installed in the building of Haryana Institute of Public Administration earlier this year," said Bijender Goel, another managing director at Secty Electronics.
The German firm was quite convincing about their product's ability, but a fully functional unit of Secty lifePatron costs Rs 30 lakh.
Anil Sinha, vice- chairman at BSDMA, said the proposal made by Secty Electronics would be studied in detail, including case-studies from other places, where the system has been installed. "We would asses various aspects of the early earthquake warning system, compare the different types of such system and make suitable recommendation to the state government," Sinha said.
