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MyShake, a groundbreaking app, serves as a proactive earthquake warning system. Photo Illustration: MyShake/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Getty ImagesA free new app has the potential to create an earthquake early-warning system powered by millions of smartphones. This initiative aims to support the efforts of over 80 nations that currently depend on just 150 seismic stations to detect major ground movements.
Developed by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, the MyShake app uses the accelerometers in smartphones to detect earthquakes as they occur. Running in the background with minimal power consumption, MyShake can sense shaking at any time, and if the vibrations match earthquake patterns, it sends the data — including GPS coordinates — to the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory in California.
As stated in a research article published in Science Advances by the app’s creators, "earthquake early warning provides seconds to minutes of notice, enabling individuals to reach safe zones and allowing automatic deceleration and shutdown of transit systems and machinery."
The results have shown great promise. Since the release of the Android version of MyShake in February 2016, over 170,000 users have downloaded and installed the app. Within its first three months of use, the app's network recorded seismic activity in locations as diverse as Argentina, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, and Oklahoma in the United States.
"In my view, this represents groundbreaking research that will revolutionize seismology," said UC Berkeley graduate student Qingkai Kong, who developed the app's algorithm, in a press release. "The seismic stations we have for traditional methods are sparse, particularly in certain parts of the world, but leveraging smartphones with affordable sensors will allow us to build a robust, dense network in the future."
A Japanese-language version of the Android app was launched last weekend. UC Berkeley also plans to release Spanish and Chinese versions, along with an app compatible with iPhones, in the near future.
On March 28, 1964, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history struck at Prince William Sound, Alaska, registering a magnitude of 9.2 on the Richter scale. Alaska remains the most earthquake-prone region in the U.S., experiencing at least one magnitude 7 earthquake annually.
