Egypt & China Expand Cooperation on Earthquake Warning Systems

Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Earthquake Administration to expand cooperation on earthquake monitoring, data exchange, training and early warning technologies.

The agreement was signed during an international workshop marking 34 years since the October 12th, 1992 earthquake. The event reviewed how Egypt’s seismic monitoring system has developed since then, from paper-based recording to high-precision digital technologies.

Dr Bassem Nabawy, president of the institute, said early warning systems can make use of the brief period before destructive seismic waves arrive, allowing protective measures to be activated and potentially reducing human and material losses.

Discussions also covered the National Seismic Network, future monitoring challenges and continued seismic studies around the High Dam area, where researchers have accumulated around 45 years of data for risk assessment.

A separate part of the workshop focused on protecting archaeological sites from natural hazards. The institute and the Supreme Council of Antiquities have been working for around three years on a seismic risk map for heritage sites, particularly historic buildings affected by the 1992 earthquake.

China Earthquake Administration head Wang Kun also presented China’s experience with earthquake early warning, including its use around high-speed railways, nuclear facilities, major dams and historic structures.