Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, are working on improving the warning time to the public in case of an earthquake to 40 seconds or more.

Currently, the institute’s Department of Earthquake Engineering sends out a warning just a few seconds before an earthquake is about to strike.

Professor M.L. Sharma, head of the institute’s early earthquake detection system, has incubated a start-up — Seismic Hazard and Risk Investigations — which is working on advancement of the warning system.

Explaining how the system works, he said: “We have installed a sensor in a highly seismic zone, between Uttarkashi and Dharchula (in Uttarakhand). Whenever it catches a seismic wave, signals are sent to the monitoring system installed in our earthquake lab.”

Sharma added: “Once it catches the signal and identifies the magnitude of the quake, it sends out a warning. If the quake is of high magnitude, the warning goes out to the public, else it goes to the researchers internally for monitoring purposes.”

A warning is sent out to the public through their free app — Early Earthquake Warning — only if the earthquake is stronger than a magnitude of five.

Sharma, however, emphasised that it was “not enough that we send out a warning to people before a quake. We need to ensure that more and more buildings are made up of earthquake-proof material”.

IIT Roorkee’s Department of Earthquake Engineering is the only one of its kind in an educational institution which conducts research on early quake detection and quake-proof building material.

12 warnings in 2 years

According to Sharma, in the past two years, their system has sent out 12 warnings, most of them internally, and a recent one to the public at the time of the Nepal earthquake in January this year.

“During the recent earthquake in Nepal, we had sent out a warning to the public through our app and were able to alert people about 40 seconds in advance,” he said, adding that at the time of an earthquake, an early warning can help people a great deal.

“We are now trying to improve the warning system through our start-up,” he said.

Explaining how the warning mechanism worked, Sharma said, when an earthquake occurs, two kinds of waves emanate from the earth — one that travels at a faster speed and another that travels slightly slower.

“The faster wave hits our sensor located in Uttarkashi and we get a signal, so that we are prepared before the slightly slower wave hits, which actually causes destruction on the ground,” he explained.

Currently, the major part of the monitoring system is installed in Uttarkashi, but in the future the team plans to install several sensors in other regions, all connected to the main monitoring system at the IIT Roorkee lab.

“This will enable better detection of quakes and allow better response time to the researchers to send out the warning,” said Sharma. (The Print)

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According to the most recent edition of the world’s most-consulted university ranking, the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has been named one of the world’s top universities for the study of 14 subjects.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, published by global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, identified the world’s best universities for the study of 54 academic disciplines. IIT Guwahati excelled in Petroleum Engineering, ranking 51-100 globally and second in India.

The institution is ranked in two additional subjects this year, up from the previous year. Six of IIT Guwahati’s programmes improved in rank.

Prof Parameswar K Iyer, Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati, commented on IIT Guwahati’s performance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, “IIT Guwahati is working hard to provide quality education that will help to build a better future for all.”

“In accordance with the National Education Policy 2020, the Institute is enhancing multidisciplinary research and development collaboration.” This was made possible by the combined efforts of all faculty and students.”

One of the top 100 subjects is taught at the institute. Based on the number of top-100 programmes, India has the world’s 21st strongest higher education system. India is the world’s 12th most-represented territory in terms of the total number of ranked programmes across the 54 subject tables.

In terms of broad subject areas, IIT Guwahati excels in Engineering & Technology, where it ranks 222. This year’s QS World University Rankings by Subject include three new academic disciplines: data science, marketing, and the history of art. (The Daily Guardian)

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