Earthquake in Sichuan leaves 3 dead, sees more than 70,000 evacuated

According to a comprehensive analysis of regional structural characteristics, historical seismicity levels and seismic sequence characteristics, there is little possibility of a larger earthquake in Luxian in the near future, but aftershocks will continue for a period of time, the Sichuan Earthquake Bureau said.

Thirty-one seconds before seismic waves reached Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital, the China Earthquake Early Warning Network developed by the Institute of Care-Life in Chengdu and the China Earthquake Administration had warned Chengdu residents that the waves would jolt the city.

"Six seconds before seismic waves reached Luzhou (a city that has Luxian under its administration), the network had provided an early warning," said Wang Tun, head of the Institute of Care-Life.

A real-time earthquake early warning system has been installed on TV sets and mobile phones in many parts of the country, and residents can use it to save themselves from earthquakes, he said.

The system provides warnings seconds after a quake and can save lives because the warnings are transmitted via radio waves traveling much faster than seismic waves. Radio waves travel at 300,000 km per second, while seismic waves travel at 3 to 6 km per second.