Annex A

AUTOMATED ALERT AND MONITORING SYSTEM FOR EARLY-EARTHQUAKE

DETECTION USING IOT

Diesto, Francis Ryan

Delicana, Jay Robert Lloyd
Hababag, Brenz Gwynne M.
Tupas, Hermoso

I. INTRODUCTION

Disasters, both natural and human-induced, continue to pose significant threats to human lives,
infrastructure, and socio-economic stability worldwide. In the face of these uncertainties, disaster
preparedness has emerged as a vital strategy to mitigate risks, minimize the impact of disasters, and
enhance community resilience. Earlier this year the world was struck with the devastating news of a 7.8
Magnitude earthquake hitting Turkey and Syria in the early hours of February 6, 2023 [1]. Reports say
that 18 million people were affected by the disaster, with 130,000 injured and a death toll of 55,000.
Experts cite that the degradation of the integrity of the structures due to the years of infighting and lack of
maintenance, and poor disaster preparedness are the leading cause of why the earthquakes were so
destructive. Another unfortunate instance similar to this happened in the Philippines in the province of
Abra where 2 large quakes occurred 3 months apart. In July 2022 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred
and was followed by a 6.4 magnitude in October 2022. [2] The disaster resulted in no fatalities but was
reported to have cost 85 million pesos in infrastructure damages.
To lessen these damages prevention methods are always ongoing. Last year the Philippine
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology established the Davao Seismic Station's cluster center [3] which
acts as a backup for the PHIVOLCS Data Receiving Center (DRC) in Quezon City. Located in Davao
City, it ensures uninterrupted earthquake and tsunami monitoring operations during disruptions. The
cluster center issues public alerts and manages seismic and tsunami monitoring stations in Mindanao. It
also promotes coordination among technical personnel for efficient emergency response.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In the current context of the University Disaster Risk Management Division, the staff manually
operates the signal to evacuate inside their office when a disaster is currently ongoing. This makes the
staff vulnerable and at risk to the dangers of disasters such as a high magnitude earthquake. Moreover,
there are instances that the staff may be unavailable or not present in the office. This study proposes an
early earthquake detection using an accelerometer and a piezoelectric sensor to automatically signal the
university personnel to evacuate their respective buildings.

The following are the research questions that this project aims to answer:
1. How well do the sensors detect early-earthquakes in terms of the delay per millisecond?
2. How accurate are the sensors in early earthquake detection?
3. What are the potential benefits of implementing an automated evacuation signal system compared
to the current manual operation by the University Disaster Risk Management Division?
4. How does the proposed system compare to other existing earthquake detection and evacuation
systems in terms of cost, accuracy, ease of implementation, and scalability?
OBJECTIVE

The proposed system aims to develop an automated alert and monitoring system to prevent
casualties by early detection of earthquakes for early evacuation. The proposed system enables disaster
risk management to be safe from risk given the current context of manually operating the alert for
evacuation. Moreover, the proposed system can be compared to other existing systems to be more
efficient in terms of cost, accuracy, and ease of implementation.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study will specifically focus on developing an early earthquake warning system within the
University of Southeastern Philippines - Obrero Campus (USeP-Obrero). With permission and
coordination with the University Disaster Risk Reduction Management Unit (UDRRMU), the system will
be deployed at a specific location that the UDRRMU may locate. The system will be tailored to the
specific needs and conditions of the university. Subsequently, extensive testing and validation are
conducted to assess the system's effectiveness in timely earthquake detection and issuing warnings to the
university community.
Furthermore, the study assesses the impact of the early warning system on the safety and
preparedness of the university community. This includes evaluating how the system improves response
times, enables appropriate actions, and enhances overall earthquake resilience. Additionally, the research
analyzes the system's compatibility with the local government's disaster risk reduction plans and
coordination mechanisms, ensuring alignment and effective collaboration between the university and
relevant local authorities.
Despite its scope, the study does have limitations: Firstly, the geographical scope is confined to
the specific area of the university and its surroundings. Therefore, the findings may not directly apply to
regions with different geological and seismic characteristics. Technological limitations also exist, as the
study relies on available resources and the university's budget, which may impact the system's
effectiveness and performance. Lastly, the study will not extensively explore the behavioral and human
factors that influence the response to earthquake warnings within the university community.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

PHIVOLCS - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It is a government agency in

the Philippines responsible for monitoring, studying, and mitigating volcanic activity, earthquakes, and
other related geological hazards.
UDRRMU - University Disaster Risk Management Unit. It refers to a specific unit or division
within a university that is responsible for managing and mitigating disaster risks. The UDRRMU is
typically tasked with developing and implementing strategies, policies, and plans to ensure the safety and
well-being of students, faculty, staff, and other members of the university community in the event of
disasters.

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There are several existing early earthquake detection and alerting systems using Arduino.
However, most of these systems have only implemented the system in an LCD display, LED lights and
alerting systems through text messages and buzzers.
The study by Varghese et. al [4] utilized Arduino technology to detect earthquakes early by
detecting initial low frequency vibrations of earthquakes and estimation of the ground level shaking. The
proponents provided a portable device that is highly portable and lightweight for the improvement of an
existing model. The proposed portable device included Arduino sensors and display modules, namely: an
accelerometer for detecting primary vibrations of earthquake along three axes, a flame sensor for
detecting occurrences of fire or flames, a gas sensor to detect and measure any gas presence in an area,
16x2 LCD to display the values of the sensors and individual LED lights for each sensor to indicate if an
anomaly is detected. They argued in their conclusion that their proposed system provides an economically
affordable solution towards the automatic detection and classification of earthquakes. However, the only
automation that this study provides is the automatic alert messages that registered mobile phones will
receive.
In the study conducted by Pathak et. al [5], they used Arduino Uno and a MPU6050 gyroscope
accelerometer sensor to define the limits of motion in 3-dimensional figures. The main objective of their
study is to identify the Seismic-waves or high frequency vibrations with the MPU6050 gyroscope
accelerometer sensor to provide an indication before the earthquake would strike. The main limitation of
this study is that the device will be placed at a specific area of the building making the device unhandy for
the people that are not in the hearing vicinity of the device. This could mean that for huge buildings, the
device must be placed at each level or multiple devices must be placed at different areas at the same level.
The study by Hoque et. al [6] developed a monitoring and early warning system that warns
bystanders in a bridge when an earthquake strikes. The system comprises 4 Arduino Boards namely: 2
Arduino UNOs, and 2 Arduino MEGA 2560s. The 2 Arduino UNO boards are placed on a bridge and
connected to a router and 2 sensors namely the ADXL 345, which is an accelerometer, and a Piezoelectric
sensor that converts a physical parameter into an electrical signal. A buzzer will ring when these sensors
detect movement to warn bystanders on a bridge. The study provides a thorough display of data from
sensors using the LabView application. However, due to the nature of the small Arduino buzzers, it may
become difficult to hear the buzzer especially when cars may be passing by the bridge. Moreover, the
GSM messaging that the study set up only messages one mobile number at a time according to the
displayed figure in their study.

III. METHODOLOGY

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Proposed System

RESEARCH DESIGN
 This study will apply an Experimental research design In this research design, controlled
experiments can be conducted to systematically investigate the performance of the sensors in detecting
early earthquakes. The researchers can design and set up controlled scenarios where earthquakes or
simulated earthquake signals of known magnitudes are introduced, and the sensors' responses can be
observed and measured. The experiments can involve multiple sensors placed in different locations to
assess their consistency and reliability in detecting seismic activity.

DATA COLLECTION

The data collection in this study will involve a primary data collection since the sensor data can
be obtained from real-time monitoring when the system will be deployed. The data will be used for future
data analysis in coordination with the UDRRMU. The data that will be collected are:
1. Current Time and Date
2. ADXL 335 Accelerometer x dimension data
3. ADXL 335 Accelerometer y dimension data
4. ADXL 335 Accelerometer z dimension data
5. Piezoelectric sensor data
6. Corresponding estimated magnitude (acceleration to richter scale conversion)

RESEARCH METHOD

The researchers will utilize Arduino technologies for the development of the earthquake
detection, monitoring and alerting system.

1. Arduino UNO Rev3/R3 board. Arduino UNO is a microcontroller board based on the
ATmega328P. It contains 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, 14 digital
input/output pins (six of which can be used as PWM outputs), a USB port, a power jack,
an ICSP header, and a reset button. The board will be the main microcontroller for the
acquiring sensor data.

2. ADXL335 accelerometer. The accelerometer involves a complete 3-dimensional

acceleration measurement within a range of ±3 g in the x, y and z axes. An accelerometer
can determine the angle it is tilted with respect to the Earth by detecting the amount of
acceleration caused by gravity.

3. Piezoelectric sensor module. A piezoelectric sensor is essentially a transducer that turns

stress into electrical energy. It simply applies the energy conversion concept from one
form to another. It turns physical stress into electrical energy, just as a piezoelectric
sensor. Stress can be defined as a force, pressure, acceleration, or potential for contact.
Because they are all types of stresses, and a piezoelectric sensor translates such physical
forces into electrical signals. This sensor will be utilized by the researchers for additional
S-waves conversion from electrical signals.

4. Arduino MEGA 2560 Rev3/R3. The ATmega2560-based Arduino Mega 2560 is a

microcontroller board. It features 54 digital I/O pins (of which 15 are PWM outputs), 16
analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB
connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. The microcontroller board
will be utilized as the coordinator for GSM Sim module and the speakers to play pre-
recorded messages as alert signals.
 5. GSM SIM900. The Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a digital
cellular technology that is utilized in mobile devices. It is an international mobile
standard that is commonly used for long-distance communication. The SIM900 module
enables users to send and receive data through GPRS, send and receive SMS, and make
and receive phone calls.

6. MicroSD Card Reader Module. The MicroSD Card Reader module is used as a card
reader for a MicroSD Card containing the pre-recorded messages for earthquake alert
signals.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The researchers will observe complete ethical standards in conducting the study following the
ethics board protocol of the University of Southeastern Philippines, particularly in managing the impact
and fairness.The potential impact on the community will be considered, including any potential disruption
caused by false alarms or unnecessary evacuations. Furthermore, there is a need for transparency and
accountability in the deployment and operation of the sensor system, ensuring that it is used solely for its
intended purpose and not for unauthorized surveillance or monitoring. Finally, the project should align
with the principles of fairness and equity, ensuring that the benefits and risks associated with early
earthquake detection are distributed fairly among the university community.

REFERENCES

[1] S. Omer, “2023 Turkey and Syria earthquake: Facts, faqs, and how to help,” World Vision,
https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2023-turkey-and-syria-earthquake-
faqs#:~:text=disaster%20survivors%20today%3F-,Fast%20facts%3A%202023%20Turkey–Syria
%20earthquake,Turkey%20near%20the%20Syrian%20border (accessed Jun. 19, 2023).

[2] M. Aurelio, S. D. Catugas, A. B. Ramirez, S. C. Aurelio, and A. M. Lagmay, “Two large quakes hit
Abra, Philippines, in three months. what does this mean?,” Temblor, Dec. 2022.
doi:10.32858/temblor.288

[3] Gdapd, “Press release: Dost-PHIVOLCS introduces its first cluster center for earthquake and tsunami
monitoring,” Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology,
https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/12894-press-release-dost-phivolcs-introduces-its-
first-cluster-center-for-earthquake-and-tsunami-monitoring (accessed Jun. 19, 2023).

[4] S. Varghese, A. Varghese, A. Jagadees, and E. K. A. Vijayan, “Earthquake Detector Using Arduino,”
International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management, vol. 3, no. 4, Apr.
2020. https://www.ijresm.com/Vol.3_2020/Vol3_Iss4_April20/IJRESM_V3_I4_147.pdf

[5] B. Pathak, P. Kumar, and A. Sharma, “Earthquake detector using Arduino Uno,” Jaypee University of
Information Technology - Digital Library,
http://ir.juit.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6901/1/Earthquake%20Detector%20using
%20Arduino%20Uno.pdf (accessed Jun. 21, 2023).

[6] R. Hoque, S. Hassan, MD. A. Sadaf, A. Galib, and T. F. Karim, “Earthquake monitoring and warning
system,” 2015 International Conference on Advances in Electrical Engineering (ICAEE), 2015.
doi:10.1109/icaee.2015.7506808