Advance Warning Systems for Earthquakes

Have you ever wondered how many countless lives could be saved if an enough advance warning could be given preceding an earthqauke? I recently read about remarkably sensitive new instruments seismologists are experimenting with which have detected minute geological changes that preceded small earthquakes along California's famed San Andreas Fault by as much as 10 hours. If follow-up tests show that the preseismic signal is pervasive, researchers say the method could form the basis of a robust early warning system for impending quakes. Think of how many lives could have been saved in Japan if such a warning system existed. Tragically, one of the leading seismologist conducting this research was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2009. One can only hope that such research continues and in the future such a warning system will exist. For further reading check out the following link to Science Daily.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930132654.htm

Rogue Wave by Boyd Morrison

Hey, I just got through reading Boyd Morrison's Rogue Wave, a disaster novel. It kept me on the edge of the chair with the level of suspense as I read it. I've already ordered another book of his The Ark. It's interesting how people have historically responded to advance warnings of imminent danger. Beginning with the biblical story of Noah and the great deluge, we find people either ignoring the warning completely or taking it too lightly. Perhaps, we need to find a happy balance and be prepared in the event a warning proves to be prophetic.