European Alert System

The European Alert System (sometimes Referred to as the European Alarm System or European Warning System ) is an earthquake warning system for member states of the Council of Europe ’s EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement .

Seismic alerts are provided by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), ^[1] international, non-governmental, and non-profit association based at the Laboratory of Detection and Geophysics (LDG) of the French Atomic Energy Commission ( Office of the Commissioner at Atomic Energy – CEA) in Bruyères-le-Châtel ( Essonne , France). Until 1993, the EMSC was based in Strasbourg . ^[2]

Competence and notification

The EMSC’s main area of ​​competence is the following:

• west: Atlantic-ridge , north of 30 ° N
• north: to the Arctic ocean
• east: to the Urals and the regions bordering the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea
• south: to the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea .

The competent region also includes the territories of the Member States of the EUR-OPA Major Hazard Agreement which falls outside these boundaries.

The EMSC’s Coordination Bureau is responsible for informing the Secretariat of the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement on any major event in the European-Mediterranean region. It spreads to the Council of Europe less than an hour after an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 6.0 on the Richter scale in any of the states of the Partial Agreement , indicating the localization of the epicenter of the seism and its magnitude. The EUR-OPA secretariat undertakes to confirm the status of the Member States.

The Council of Europe does not provide humanitarian aid itself. This is provided by organizations such as the European Commission and UNOCHA .

Past alerts

The alert was triggered for 19 events in 2006, notably the M _w 6.7 in Greece on 8 January 2006 and 18 events in the Extreme-Eastern Russia (10 events in the Kuril Islands , 5 in the Koryakia region and North of Kamchatka Peninsula) 3 in or near Kamchatka Peninsula ).

See also

• Earthquake early warning
• Earthquake prediction
• Emergency management

References