The recent reports of earthquakes in Italy have been perturbing, to say the least. So, I wondered, does any kind of simple earthquake alarm exist? A quick hop over to Amazon.com revealed that such things do exist and, apparently, work, or so says one user.
“I live in San Diego. After the 7.2 magnitude quake on Easter I bought one of these things, mostly out of curiosity. I mounted it in the hallway by the bedrooms and forgot about it. This morning at 10:30 the alarm started ringing and I thought, “what’s wrong with that thing?”… 3-5 seconds later BOOM we had a 5.3 quake. It stopped then rang again. The next shock was 4.8 a few seconds later. It may just look like simple clock parts inside a plastic case, but today proves that does actually give some advance warning, for whatever that is worth” – a review by an earthquake alarm user.
This is the manufacturer’s description:
The Quake Alarm is designed to provide instant warning of seismic activity by detecting the “P” wave (compression wave) of an earthquake, which travels faster than the more destructive “S” wave (shear wave). The Quake Alarm saves valuable seconds by removing the guesswork in earthquake detection. It is capable of detecting large earthquakes that occur hundreds of miles away and can detect moderate to minor earthquakes for many miles around your local area. One very important advantage of the Quake Alarm is that it can wake you up and alert you the moment the quake starts so that you can immediately take cover or tend to other family members. The Quake Alarm can eliminate confusion, save valuable seconds and provide peace of mind.
Although the alarm will not give its users a huge amount of warning, it may give them enough time to leave their properties or hide under a substantial table. This might save lives.
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
Please note that while Italy Chronicles is an Amazon.com affiliate and can receive commission on sales, Italy Chronicles will not receive any commission on the sales of this earthquake alarm. If you do decide to make a purchase, maybe for your summer home in Italy, the sale will not be registered to this site.
Click to read more about the earthquake alarm
If you know of a better alarm, please let me know.
