EEW & ICL

I did not know "EEW" stands for Earthquake Early Warning and "ICL"for Institute of Care-Life until today. I listened to an amateurish radio talk show host referring to China's earthquake early warning system as "ICL" and could not figure out what the acronym stands for. I therefore researched into the fields and learned the facts.

Basing on the principle of physics that an electric signal travels faster than an earthquake wave, a sensory and communication system can send early warning messages to smart phones, TV sets and computers. I learned that ICL's EEW system has no less than 2,000,000 square kilometers, covering about 90% of China's earthquake prone areas. EEW systems alert people to take timely actions to avoid danger.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, I have never felt any earthquake. My first earthquake experience (M:6.3) was in Tokyo on December 28, 2016 while I was watching TV in a 4-star multi-storey hotel. My room was shaking like a tram car and before I could figure out any response, it was gone. I was not aware of any earthquake early warning from the TV or the Hotel.

I visited Jiuzhaigou in January 2015 and captured its beauty in a video entitled "Heaven on Earth". I could imagine how strong was the Jiuzhaigou earthquake (M:7) on August 8, 2017 and if tourists could directly benefit from ICL's EWW system. Anyhow, I believe humans can adapt to any challenging change and survive against all odds, and things there should return to normal before long!

#EEWICL