NEPAL Testing the feasibility of an Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS)

The aim of this project was EEWS’s feasibility testing in central Nepal by establishing:

• a network of 43 low-cost seismometers that will continuously monitor the ground motion
• a cloud monitoring system to receive data from the network
• detect earthquakes, estimate their location and magnitude
• issue test alerts via a local data center to oversee the network operation

The team used passive seismic monitoring, real-time data transmission using Internet of Things (IoT) tools, cloud-based data processing, earthquake detection and location and web application for station data and metadata management. Recent advances in IoT and cloud technology have made EEWS more affordable and accessible globally. Leveraging these modern tools, the team developed a low-cost EEW solution, which can detect earthquakes in the range 3.5-5.7 between November 2021 and April 2023, when a total of 25 earthquakes were detected.

The impact of future events could be reduced by implementing an EEWS—one that detects the initial stages of an earthquake, sends alerts, and provides critical seconds for people to take cover or exit buildings before strong shaking begins.

Project Partners

Institute of Geophysics of the CAS, v. v. i., Prague, Czech Republic; Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA; National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Kathmandu, Nepal; and National Society for Earthquake Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal.

UNSDGs Addressed

SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)