Artificial intelligence and the revolution in earthquake prediction.

Advanced technology is changing how humans detect and respond to earthquakes – but can technology help us predict disasters before it's too late?

The Greek tourist island of Santorini was shaken by a series of earthquakes earlier this year, prompting thousands of tourists and residents to evacuate in a hurry.

Meanwhile, seismologist Margarita Segou immediately put the QuakeFlow algorithm into operation to analyze what was happening.

QuakeFlow, a cloud computing system developed by Stanford University, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and analyze earthquakes faster and more accurately than traditional methods.

Thanks to AI, Ms. Segou detected 1,500 small earthquakes from December 2024 before the actual earthquake erupted on January 26th and peaked on February 2nd.

Segou shared: “When studying major earthquakes in Santorini, we noticed a recurring pattern: the seismic activity begins with a magnitude 4.0 earthquake, followed by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake, and then returns to 4.0 as if the earth's interior is adjusting to a state of equilibrium.”

Not only does AI technology help scientists detect small earthquakes that older methods might miss, but it also provides crucial data for assessing future earthquake risk.

The devastating earthquake in Myanmar on March 28th once again reminded the world of the ferocity of natural disasters – and the limitations of human prediction capabilities.

While AI has significantly improved storm and flood forecasting, accurately predicting the time, location, and intensity of an earthquake remains an unsolved challenge.

Christopher Johnson, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), said: “AI has revolutionized the ability to detect small earthquakes – tremors that can be drowned out by background noise and missed by conventional systems.”

While AI offers hope in earthquake detection, the technology still relies on input data from seismometers – and not all countries have the resources to invest in such equipment.

Wealthy countries like the US and China have dense networks of sensors, while many earthquake-prone countries like the Philippines and Nepal suffer from a severe shortage of seismic monitoring systems. This creates a digital gap in earthquake prediction and early warning.

Some researchers have come up with an innovative solution: turning smartphones into earthquake measuring devices.

Since 2020, Google has integrated an earthquake warning system into the Android operating system, allowing phones to use accelerometer sensors to detect tremors and send early warnings to users.

In India, scientists have also developed the Uttarakhand earthquake warning system, which uses a mobile app to provide information on earthquake location and intensity, helping rescue teams deploy more quickly.

According to experts, every second of warning before an earthquake can save thousands of lives. Early warning can help stop dangerous surgeries, slow down high-speed trains, or evacuate people from unstable buildings before disaster strikes.

Despite the many challenges, scientists believe that AI is revolutionizing how we understand Earth.

Segou stated: “Technology is helping us collect and analyze data faster than ever before. We shouldn’t be in a state of panic all the time – instead, we should leverage AI to proactively respond to earthquakes.”

Comment (0)