Cell Phones To Alert Users: Earthquake Ahead!

Japan’s three largest cell phone providers — NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank Mobile — are working with the Japan Meteorological Agency to alert users of impending earthquakes.

The agency uses a system of detecting primary tremors and predicting the timing of more destructive quakes that follow within seconds or minutes. Alerts are then sent to users — including hospital, utility plants, schools and cell phone users. Those on the receiving end could be warned several minutes ahead of time, allowing a certain degree of preparation before major tremors strike.

This earthquake alert system is already used in government buildings, major industrial manufacturing plants and hospitals in Japan, and is used to trigger actions like shutting down heavy machinery and saving PC data. Engineers are working on automatic gas valve shutdowns triggered by the alerts.