Earthquake detectors installed at B.C. schools

New earthquake detectors could buy some B.C. students precious seconds to get to safety before the ground starts shaking.

The sensors are being placed on the grounds of 50 Catholic and two public schools in the Lower Mainland as part of a pilot project funded by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the provincial government.

The detectors are sensitive to waves produced only by earthquakes, and send electronic signals to a computer hub in the university.

After the data is quickly analyzed, an alarm is sounded to all of the schools in the program over the building's speaker system

Program leader Prof. Carlos Ventura of the University of B.C. says the detectors could give up to 40 seconds notice before a quake hits, depending on the location of the epicentre.

Ventura, who's the director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility at UBC, says as little as five seconds could make a difference, if it allows students a chance to duck under a desk.

The detectors are expected to start working by the end of the month,