A world-renowned earthquake scientist has urged New Zealand to adopt a new earthquake detection system. According to Dr Tun Wang, the cutting-edge technology will provide as much as 25 seconds as an early warning signal before a big earthquake is about to strike.

Mr Wang said New Zealand could use the early warning system developed in Western China when the Sichuan Earthquake hit China in 2008 and claimed the lives of 70,000 people. If the same earthquake had been place in China, more than 30,000 people could have survived the devastating quake.

Mr Wang was in Austria working when a massive quake destroyed his house and left his home province in ruins. He returned to establish an early warning system for earthquakes under the Institute of Care-life based in Chengdu.

He said Mexico and Japan were the only other nations that had established the system. Indonesia and North America had recently taken steps to install the early warning systems.

According to Mr Wang, New Zealand's buildings may be sturdy but the country needs to have an early warning system to detect earthquakes earlier as added protection.

GNS Science's Dr Ken Gledhill said he was aware of Mr Wang's early warning system, and the idea has been considered in New Zealand. However, adopting the system is another thing since the possible cost of the project is high. The government may have other priorities before blowing the budget on such a system.

The geology of New Zealand is significant because earthquakes can strike anywhere in the country. For the early warning system to work, thousands of sensors will be needed to cover the entire 270,000 square kilometres of New Zealand.

Mr Gledhill admits the costs will be high. The New Zealand government has to add it to a list of other things it wants to implement first.

Aside from a vast network of sensors, New Zealand will need to monitor data constantly which would be possible when the ultrafast broadband is in place.

According to scientists, the Alpine fault is a logical threat for the early warning system. The fault is predicted to rupture in 50 years and is expected to create an earthquake with a magnitude 8 or more. The devastating earthquake happens once in 500 years.

The impact of the earthquake on Christchurch will be similar to the earthquake that struck on Sept 24, 2010, but the towns in the West Coast are expected to sustain more damage.

Mr Gledhill said a system designed as early warnings for tsunamis like that of Japan might be more useful. He believes the Japanese system is "pretty impressive" since the system was first developed a few years ago.

Surviving the earthquake

Mr Wang's earthquake warning system features thousands of monitoring stations, approximately 15 km apart. The stations are spread across provinces, covering 540,000 sq km. The sensors can detect earthquakes as early as 25 seconds before the actual hit. When an earthquake is detected, the sensors can send messages to mobile phones, televisions and computers to announce the impending earthquake and warn the public.