- Kyle Chua
Earthquake Warning Functions on Smartphones Gain Traction in China After Shandong Earthquake
Updated: Dec 18, 2023
Chinese consumers want smartphone makers to include more earthquake warning functions in their products.
Many are said to be turning to their handy mobile companions for more timely safety alerts about earthquakes after Pingyuan county in Dezhou, Shandong province was hit by one on Sunday morning.
In the Chinese version of Apple's App Store, for example, among the most downloaded free apps for iOS devices as of today are earthquake warning apps, as China Daily reports.
Meanwhile, Android devices, such as the ones Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo put out, feature built-in earthquake warning functions that users can simply turn on, saving them from needing to download an app. The function, according to the different Android manufacturers, is a result of coordination with the Institute of Care-Life in Chengdu, Sichuan province, which developed the warning system for smartphones.
When the magnitude-5.5 earthquake hit Pingyuan county, many from Shandong province were woken from their sleep, with their smartphones emitting sounds and light signals. These signals serve as warnings, alerting users about the earthquake. The warning indicates the epicentre, depth and magnitude of the earthquake as well as the intensity that the user can expect to feel from their current location. It also contains a countdown of when the seismic wave is expected to hit.
Xiaomi's smartphones have included earthquake warning functions since June 2021, when the electronics giant worked with the aforementioned Institute of Care-Life to develop China's first smartphone earthquake monitoring network.
The head of the institute, Wang Tun, explains that traditional earthquake warning networks rely on seismic monitoring devices that are installed in earthquake-prone areas to provide warnings to the public. These monitoring devices, which are spaced about 15 kilometres apart, can detect seismic waves several seconds before they arrive.
The mobile earthquake monitoring and warning network, on the other hand, uses built-in sensors on modern smartphones in place of traditional monitoring instruments. Once a smartphone detects abnormal vibrations, it'll send a message to the warning centre server, which then determines whether an earthquake has occurred based on the information from many smartphones. The warning centre uses the information it obtains to calculate the earthquake warning magnitude, epicentre location and time of occurrence within a few seconds. If it's determined to be an earthquake, it'll send a warning message to affected populations around the epicentre with the appropriate information to help them stay safe.
Chinese consumers are turning to their handy mobile companions for more timely safety alerts about earthquakes after Pingyuan county in Dezhou, Shandong province was hit by one on Sunday morning.
In the Chinese version of Apple's App Store, for example, among the most downloaded free apps for iOS devices as of today are earthquake warning apps.
Meanwhile, Android devices, such as the ones Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo put out, feature built-in earthquake warning functions that users can simply turn on, saving them from needing to download an app.
Xiaomi's smartphones, for instance, have included earthquake warning functions since June 2021, when the electronics giant worked with the aforementioned Institute of Care-Life to develop China's first smartphone earthquake monitoring network.