Lessons from Mexico’s Earthquake Early Warning System

Allen, R. M.; Cochran, E. S.; Huggins, Thomas J.; Miles, Scott B.; Otegui, Diego

doi:10.1029/2018eo105095

Cited by 48 publications

(51 citation statements)

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“…The third step increase was driven by the earthquakes in Mexico in September 2017. The sequence started with a M8.1, then an M7.1 that did most damage, and finally M6.4 that generated a SASMEX warning (Allen et al 2018). In all this resulted in about 6000 downloads.…”

Section: Network Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MyShake Platform: A Global Vision for Earthquake Early Warning

Allen

Kong

Martin‐Short

2019

Pure Appl. Geophys.

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The MyShake Platform is an operational framework to provide earthquake early warning (EEW) to people in earthquake-prone regions. It is unique among approaches to EEW as it is built on existing smartphone technology to both detect earthquakes and issue warnings. It therefore has the potential to provide EEW wherever there are smartphones, and there are now smartphones wherever there are people. The MyShake framework can also integrate other sources of alerts and deliver them to users, as well and delivering its alerts through other channels as needed. The MyShake Platform builds on experience from the first 3 years of MyShake operation. Over 300,000 people around the globe have downloaded the MyShake app and participated in this citizen science project to detect earthquakes and provide seismic waveforms for research. These operations have shown that earthquakes can be detected, located, and the magnitude estimated * 5 to 7 s after the origin time, and alerts can be delivered to smartphones in * 1 to 5 s. A human-centered design process produced key insights to the needs of users that have been incorporated into MyShake2.0 which is being release for Android and iOS devices in June 2019. MyShake2.0 will also deliver EEW alerts, initially in California and hopes to expand service to other regions.

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Section: Network Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MyShake Platform: A Global Vision for Earthquake Early Warning

Allen

Kong

Martin‐Short

2019

Pure Appl. Geophys.

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“…The Sistema de Alerta Sísmica Mexicano (SASMEX) was originally developed through a public-private partnership to detect earthquakes originating in neighbouring areas of Mexico, before subsequent shockwaves would affect Mexico City. Reports received from agencies overseeing SASMEX indicate that multimedia displays and alert sirens are the principal, and most reliable, method to send an early earthquake alert to the Mexico City residents [ 115 ]. Although alerts have been sent via mobile internet networks, these alerts can be substantially delayed for a number of reasons, not least of all, due to overloaded mobile data networks [ 115 ].…”

Section: The Inverse Response Law and The Social Construction Of Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reports received from agencies overseeing SASMEX indicate that multimedia displays and alert sirens are the principal, and most reliable, method to send an early earthquake alert to the Mexico City residents [ 115 ]. Although alerts have been sent via mobile internet networks, these alerts can be substantially delayed for a number of reasons, not least of all, due to overloaded mobile data networks [ 115 ]. This means that Mexico City inhabitants currently need to rely on fixed multimedia displays and siren placement for reliably accessing the benefits of SASMEX.…”

Section: The Inverse Response Law and The Social Construction Of Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since SASMEX’s inception in 1997 there is an enduring lack of evidence that timely warnings have been issued prior to any substantial earthquake event. The nearby origin of the 2017 Central Mexico Earthquake, for example, meant that early warning sirens sounded after major shaking was already being felt within Mexico City [ 115 , 117 , 118 ]. Furthermore, SASMEX has yet to be linked to evidence that protective actions, such as drop-cover-and-hold, are taken once a timely warning is received [ 115 ].…”

Section: The Inverse Response Law and The Social Construction Of Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Inverse Response Law: Theory and Relevance to the Aftermath of Disasters

Phibbs

Kenney

Rivera-Muñoz

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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The Inverse Care Law is principally concerned with the effect of market forces on health care which create inequities in access to health services through privileging individuals who possess the forms of social capital that are valued within health care settings. The fields of disaster risk reduction need to consider the ways in which inequities, driven by economic and social policy as well as institutional decision-making, create vulnerabilities prior to a disaster, which are then magnified post disaster through entrenched structural differences in access to resources. Drawing on key principles within the Inverse Care Law, the Inverse Response Law refers to the idea that people in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to be impacted and to experience disparities in service provision during the disaster response and recovery phase. In a market model of recovery, vulnerable groups struggle to compete for necessary services creating inequities in adaptive capacity as well as in social and wellbeing outcomes over time. Both the Inverse Care Law and the Inverse Response Law focus on the structural organisation of services at a macro level. In this article, the Inverse Care Law is outlined, its application to medical treatment following disasters considered and an explanation of the Inverse Response Law provided. Case studies from recent disasters, in London, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Mexico City are examined in order to illustrate themes at work relating to the Inverse Response Law.

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“…This second earthquake was the deadliest event since EEW was implemented there. The SASMEX EEW audio alert was preceded by very noticeable strong shaking, so it did not alter this deadly outcome (Allen et al, 2018). The fact that neither earthquake matched the ''design'' megathrust earthquake is not a condemnation of the system, but the challenge for providing effective warnings for non-megathrust earthquakes is clear.…”

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confidence: 99%

Practical limitations of earthquake early warning

Wald

2020

Earthquake Spectra

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Earthquake early warning (EEW) entails detection of initial earthquake shaking and rapid estimation and notification to users prior to imminent, stronger shaking. EEW (ShakeAlert Phase 1, version 2.0) went operational in California in October 2019 and is coming to the rest of the U.S. West Coast. But what are the technical and social challenges to delivering actionable information on earthquake shaking before it arrives? Although there will be tangible benefits, there are also limitations. Basic seismological principles, alert communication challenges, and potential response actions, as well as substantial lessons learned from the use of EEW in Japan, point to more limited opportunities to warn and protect than perhaps many expect. This is in part because potential warning times vary by region and are influenced by tectonic environment, hypocentral depth, and the fault’s proximity to the alert user. For the U.S. West Coast, particularly for crustal earthquakes, warning times are shorter—and possible mitigation actions are likely to be less effective—than often maintained. Nevertheless, EEW is an additional arrow in the quiver of earthquake information tools available in the service of earthquake risk reduction. What is called for, then, is transparency and balance in the EEW discussion: along with its potential, the acknowledgment of EEW’s inherent and practical limitations is needed. Recognizing these limitations could, in fact, make EEW implementation more successful as part of a holistic earthquake mitigation strategy, where its role among other earthquake information tools is quite natural.

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Lessons from Mexico’s Earthquake Early Warning System

Abstract: The devastating 2017 Puebla quake provides an opportunity to assess how citizens perceive and use the Mexico City earthquake early warning system.

Cited by 48 publications

References 0 publications

The MyShake Platform: A Global Vision for Earthquake Early Warning

The MyShake Platform: A Global Vision for Earthquake Early Warning

The Inverse Response Law: Theory and Relevance to the Aftermath of Disasters

Practical limitations of earthquake early warning

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