India to unveil first earthquake early warning system today; Here's everything you need to know

The Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert app has been developed by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and the Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee).

In a first, India on Wednesday will unveil its first earthquake early warning system in Uttarakhand. The system will send an alert to all the phones in the areas that are expected to experience the earthquake, giving the people time to seek out safe spots. The system would resemble the ones in Japan, Mexico and the United States.
The warning system monitors quakes in real-time. For the unaware, the slowest seismic waves travel at a speed of 11,100kmph, which gives people seconds to react, and the alert would be sent in those few seconds by the system. 

The Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert app has been developed by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and the Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee).
Speaking to the media, Piyoosh Rautela, executive director of USDMA, informed that IIT Roorkee's control unit would receive signals from the sensors in real-time. Then those signals will be analysed by a special algorithm, which would determine how far the waves are expected to hit. 

The app will generate an alert and send it when an earthquake is of 5.5 magnitudes or more significant. People will receive notifications about the earthquake with a timer as well. As the timer will go off, a red button indicating "I need help" will appear and a green button showing "I am safe". Furthermore, the government is putting in sirens to alert the public, especially in urban areas. 

In 1991, an earthquake of 6.8 magnitudes ravaged Uttarkashi, killing over one thousand people. In 1999, another 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chamoli, killing more than 100 people. It was estimated that the largest earthquake in the region occurred over two centuries ago, in 1803, with a magnitude of 7.