Robot first to tell world of Jiuzhaigou earthquake

Thanks to a robot, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) was the first to report the Jiuzhaigou earthquake on Tuesday evening, reports the Science and Technology Daily.

The first news report of the earthquake that jolted Jiuzhaigou in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 9:19 p.m., August 8, 2017. [Screenshot: Science and Technology Daily]

The 540-word message along with 4 pictures came just 25 seconds after the initial seismic shock which occurred in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 9:19 p.m., on August 8, 2017.

The message included the time and magnitude of the earthquake, the coordinates and topography of the epicenter, the surrounding demographic conditions and the most up to date weather forecasts.

The robot is part of a chain that makes up China's Digital Earthquake Observation Network, which provides 24-hour worldwide earthquake observations backed up by the countries' numerous seismograph stations, both domestic and all around the world.

Data from across the world is collected by a data center, providing a main source for the online robot to compose a rapid and accurate report.

The earthquake rapid-report project was launched in 2009, and is aimed at "making real-time earthquake broadcasts more abundant," said Hou Jianming, Deputy Director of the Data Service Department in the CENC, also one of the developers of the earthquake robot.

The robot helps to compile an accurate earthquake report within seconds and get the latest information to various people, helping to save time, according to Pan Huaiwen, Deputy Director of CENC.