Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems work by detecting and reacting to an earthquake's fastest-travelling P-waves before the slower but more damaging S-waves arrive, giving people a few seconds to prepare. Unlike Japan, Mexico and now parts of the US, New Zealand doesn't have a nationally-funded earthquake early warning system. Overall, they found organisations and the public were keen for a New Zealand system, echoing results from a survey showing 97 per cent of people thought one would be useful, or at least somewhat useful. "The GeoNet continuous GPS network is presently far from being readily available for a tsunami early warning system," the report found. Creating an earthquake early warning system would require a "substantial effort" from GeoNet staff, a "significant increase" in funding, along with the development of procedures and technology to process data in real time.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 09, 2020 02:03 UTC