Smartphone app to give earthquake warning

A smartphone app designed to give early warning of earthquakes could be ready as early as next year, according to scientists at the World Science Forum in Rio de Janeiro.

Researchers from the University of California showed off the project this week at a conference on how to use technology to ward off natural disasters.

The app is based on technology used in an early warning system prepared by a team under Professor Richard Allen, director of the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory.

California has already embraced the concept of an early warning network, with Governor Jerry Brown signing a bill in September mandating the creation of a system.

The smartphone app is capable of providing an alert between a few seconds and one minute before a tremor hits, depending on where an individual using it is in relation to the epicenter.

To do this, the app captures initial energy from the tremor, the so-called P wave or primary wave, which rarely itself causes damage.

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