New Zealand is set to trial a low-cost community-based earthquake early warning system that could lead to a broad network of internet-linked sensors.

The project, co-funded by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and Massey University, aims to install some 20-25 sensors in the community this year, building on testing of the off-the-shelf sensors in a laboratory setting.

“The data gathered from the community will help us explore the feasibility of generating warnings using these low-cost sensors,” lead researcher Raj Prasanna from Massey University said.

“The warning may only be 10 seconds, but it will give people time to take the safety action of drop, cover and hold.”

EQC research by Julia Becker from the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at the university has found strong interest in New Zealand for an early warning system, but the country may not have the resources to replicate state-of the-art systems introduced in nations such as Japan.

“That is why we have been looking into low-cost options that people could possibly acquire in the future, complementing the existing Geonet seismic sensor network that currently provides vital earthquake related information immediately after an earthquake occurs,” Dr Prasanna said.

Workshops and further research are considering feedback on the size of earthquakes that should trigger warnings and potential interest in the take-up of sensors by the community.