On the night of this Wednesday, May 10, an earthquake of magnitude 2.3 with an epicenter in Mexico City was felt in various parts of the city. And it is until this Thursday, May 11, that 15 aftershocks have been registered without the seismic alert notifying citizens.
It was through social networks where the residents of the capital were able to confirm that it was an earthquake with an epicenter in the Magdalena Contreras mayor’s office and where they also took the opportunity to complain that the alert did not sound.
The coverage of the Mexican Seismic Alert System (Sasmex) works through 97 sensors located in the most active seismic region along the Pacific Ocean, in the subduction zone of the Cocos Plate and North American Plate.
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This means that it covers the entities of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla. Therefore, the CDMX seismic alert cannot be activated when it occurs far from these demarcations, or, in a few words, when it happens in CDMX itself.
As the capital of the country itself was the epicenter of the earthquake, the account Safe Live Alert clarifies why it is impossible for the alert to sound with a tremor in the same region:
- There are no sensors in CDMX because it is believed that they are not necessary (the earthquakes that have generated heavy damage in the capital come from the coasts).
- Even if there were sensors in CDMX, the time “to leave home” would be null, since these would be activated at the same time that we would perceive the tremor, therefore, andIt is impossible to warn of a local earthquake in time
Finally, the account Earthquake Alert Mexicoends by explaining that the speed of the seismic waves in a tremor within the same region makes it impossible for the alert to emit its sound in advance.
A seismic alert cannot be issued when the epicenter of the earthquake is within Mexico City (CDMX) due to limitations in the warning time and the speed of propagation of seismic waves”, he points out.
But what happens when the seismic alert is not activated despite the fact that the earthquake originates in other regions? This is because the magnitude of the tremor does not warrant alarm or any risk, as has happened on previous occasions.
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