A teacher working at a tribal residential school in a remote area of Khammam district has devised four working models that can issue warnings before an earthquake. K. Mallikarjuna Rao, a teacher at the Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare Residential School at the Kinnerasani dam site in the the forest area of Khammam district, won a national award at the National Teachers’ Science Congress recently.

Mr Rao’s early warning systems for earthquakes was also selected for presentation at the 99th Indian Science Congress last month. “Seismic waves can be recorded a few moments before we feel the physical shaking. If we could alert people as soon as the seismic waves are felt, it will give sufficient time to switch off electrical appliances and put off ovens and stoves. People can also come out in the open before the ground starts shaking. This will prevent loss of life and damage to property,” Mr Rao said.

Mr Rao’s earthquake warning models are based on water waves, magnets, a borewell and a glass beaker. The magnet model records the changes in the earth’s magnetic field due to an impending earthquake. The borewell system triggers an alarm whenever there are seismic disturbances inside the earth, while the water wave model helps in recording the change in wave patterns caused by an earthquake. The magnetic earthquake-warning model involves digging a large pit in a room away from vehicular disturbances. A 12-inch bar magnet is placed in the pit. A thick white paper is placed over the bar magnet and iron filings are poured on it. Once the magnetic lines are formed, they are recorded and fed onto a computer. The computer keeps an eye on the magnetic lines and any change in them is recorded. “My models are quite simple and can be easily implemented even in remotely located areas,” he pointed out.