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To Be Desired > Synergy Effects

Contributions from a New Public Data Service: Safeguard Alert Messaging

So far, contributions from more or less research-oriented disciplines have been addressed. But there are also an enormous number of more or less "trivial" sources of emergency-related information distributed throughout the urban environment, such as fire alarms and water-main pressure sensors.

The ability to convey additional information from the most important safeguard devices or about the status of vital infrastructure lifelines would be a valuable feature in a dense seismic alert network. This input would be provided by a variety of local sensors, most of them already in existence today.

Fire alarms

There are thousands of highrise buildings, hospitals, schools, and industrial plants equipped with sophisticated fire alarm systems. Generally, these safeguard systems are directly connected to the nearest fire department, often using PSTN (public-switched telephone network) services.

Under normal circumstances this is an adequate solution, but immediately after a major earthquake this communication channel may no longer be operational. For the most critical locations in town, a back-up link would be a valuable option.

Existing fire alarm systems in the region could upgrade easily with an emergency link directly to the crisis center

Water pressure in public hydrants

Historical events have taught us more than once that after a severe earthquake firefighting can be a truly critical yet difficult task. Where to get enough water when the public hydrants fall short and how to pass through heavily-damaged areas with a convoy of fire engines become critical issues if small fires are to be prevented from becoming major conflagrations.

In a severe disaster, it would be useful to the fire department to have two further pieces of critical information: the water pressure in public hydrants and water levels in storage areas.

Certain hydrants could easily be equipped with a conventional pressure gauge, which could then be connected to the nearest seismic alert station. Indeed, silicon pressure sensors are a robust, low-cost solution for this job.

Utilities: gas and electricity

Similarly, a seismic alert station could convey information about a region‘s utilities. Real time data about the status of gaslines and power supplies in the city‘s largest hospitals could influence decisions on how to organize medical aid for the seriously injured.

Again, the technical provisions for acquiring this information would be trivial. In fact, many sensors are already in place to support routine operations of such utilities.

Transportation lifelines

Access to severely-damaged regions is an important factor in rescue operations. The seismic alert stations could easily relay precise and continuous updates about the state of transportation lifelines, such as major highways, bridges of all sorts, BART, ports, and airports.

These are just a few examples of the potential benefits of Safeguard Alert Messaging. We encourage our readers to make their own suggestions!

Again, it is vital that this local information be conveyed to the crisis center in a timely manner.