A "race" for disaster reduction, Xinhua News Agency commented: earthquake warning video | earthquake | warning
Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Jieqiong
At 2:33 am on August 6th, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Pingyuan County, Dezhou City, Shandong Province, with multiple areas experiencing tremors. Many people have received earthquake warnings on their phones.
"The countdown suddenly rang in the middle of the night, thinking that the phone was about to explode." "This warning was very accurate, and after the countdown ended, I immediately felt the house shaking." "Although it was only a few seconds, it could save lives in critical moments." Many experienced people left messages on social media, writing down their feelings after receiving the earthquake warning. ".
Earthquake warning is a race against seismic waves. It refers to the rapid issuance of a danger warning to areas where destructive seismic waves have not yet reached after an earthquake occurs, usually only a few seconds to a few tens of seconds.
A netizen left a message asking what can be done in just a few seconds. In fact, this brief gap in outperforming seismic waves has a much greater purpose than we imagine.
Dealing with earthquake disasters means more vitality every second. Research has shown that if a warning can be issued 3 seconds before an earthquake occurs, the number of casualties can be reduced by 14%; Ten seconds in advance will reduce casualties by 39%; Advance by 20 seconds can reduce casualties by 63%. Earthquake warning may only be enough to allow people near the epicenter to hide under tables, but it may also allow people around the epicenter to obtain emergency disaster prevention kits and even run smoothly to open areas. In addition, it can also secure emergency response opportunities for some special industries and positions.
For example, a command issued at a critical moment may be able to stop trains heading towards dangerous areas. On the early morning of August 6th, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Shandong Plain, the monitoring video of the train room at the Plain Railway Station recorded the reaction of three railway duty personnel at the moment of receiving the earthquake warning. "Earthquake! Earthquake! Stop the train!" The three duty personnel urgently stopped seven trains in the next two minutes. Although it was just one sentence, it made people deeply feel the urgency of emergency response.
Earthquake early warning technology is actually not unfamiliar. On June 17, 2019, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Yibin, Sichuan. That evening, many areas in Chengdu issued earthquake warnings, and earthquake waves echoed over the city to reach the countdown. Many people have witnessed the important value of this technology in earthquake resistance and disaster reduction for the first time. On May 21, 2021, at 21:21 and 21:48, there were consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 5.6 and 6.4 in Yangbi County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Along with the earthquake situation, there is also a special news that many local people in Yunnan have received earthquake warnings in advance through mobile phones, television, community broadcasting, and other means, and have taken some protective measures and psychological preparations in advance.
At the same time, we have also noticed some issues. For example, in the Shandong Plain earthquake, some people received earthquake warnings but mistakenly believed that they were harassing or scamming phone numbers. Although some people were aware of the danger at the first time, due to the lack of relevant emergency drills, they were flustered and unable to make scientific responses.
Strengthening the popularization of earthquake warning and other related knowledge, actively organizing emergency drills, and making full use of the precious time won by racing against time are also the "race" for disaster reduction.
