Would have thought that pre-warning would be "get out of your building and get away from any other building".andy28 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 30, 2025 3:30 amThe other night I was just nodding off when my phone started alerting me with a sound similar to my SofaScore notifications. Initially I was going to disregard it, but then the phone lit up which is unusual for m phone. So I checked it and saw a warning of an imminent strong earthquake. It advised me to gather shoes, clothes, medicine, survival supplies, and be prepared to evacuate. It even told me how far away I was from the epicenter.
At first, I thought there had been no earthquake yet, but then 1-2 seconds later it hit.
I was quite impressed that it warned me before the quake hit. However, I began to question the point of such a warning.
If you live above the epicenter, you get no warning and suffer the most damage.
If you live further away, you get more warning, but there's likely less damage.
The usual advice is to "drop, cover, and hold on" during an earthquake. But had I followed the message, I would have been wandering around the house in the dark.
Wouldn't it make more sense for the alert to say: "Take cover and hold on until it passes, and then..."
I'm guessing you're in NZ. Glad you're OK.