At Roam3 Ltd we develop software and solutions for personal safety and communication. Our goal is to get important information – such as a warning of an impending earthquake or tsunami – to you, no matter where you are.

We have developed software for most types of computer (Windows, Mac and Linux) and many mobile platforms – from NZD $75 Java-capable phones to iPod Touches to smartphones like Androids and iPhones costing NZD $225 or more. We are also developing hardware devices that you can install at your home or office.

We successfuly deployed our Earthquake Early Warning system to the Urban Search and Rescue and Geotech teams after the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. We hope the New Zealand Government will fund an initial trial of an Earthquake Early Warning system for the people of Christchurch.

Earthquake Notification and Early Warning

After February's magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand we deployed the Earthquake Early Warning sensor network we'd been developing since the previous year's magnitude 7.1 earthquake. It detects shaking with a sensor near the epicentre, and sends a warning to a user located futher away before the shaking has time to travel through the ground (the "S-Waves" that normally cause most damage travel at around 2-5km/s). Click here for more information about how it works.

Despite the fact that February's 6.3 had been centred beneath the city's edge, we were able to provide early aftershock warnings of up to three seconds to those in the CBD.

With help and sponsorship from Google, Canterbury Civil Defence, the NZ Air Force, Telecom NZ, Vodafone NZ, Unleash and Snap Internet Ltd, we deployed warning devices to the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and later the Geotech teams, giving them vital seconds to get clear of falling debris.

Although we cannot provide an early warning for a shallow earthquake located right underneath a user, USAR team members said it still provided a useful notification of shaking that might be sufficient to dislodge debris from a damaged building but too small to be felt by someone walking or driving around. We were concerned about the impact of the extreme cell-tower congestion caused by the many mobile command trucks using large amounts of mobile data at the USAR headquarters, but they still reported early warning before the arrival of shaking at that location.

Our Geotech contact said "Impressive kit &ndash will get the other sets out to the structures boys and contractors." As rocks generally take a long time to roll downhill, they say notifications are useful even when an early warning isn't possible.

Our software has been designed to encourage users to record customised warnings for locations they frequent. A user at home may wish to remind themself to avoid the fireplace due to the risk of their brick chimney falling through their roof. Somebody working in an old brick building like ChristChurch Cathedral may wish to remind themselves to leave the building as quickly as possible. In other stronger buildings with brick facades it may be safer to stay inside. A customized warning can impart this critical information at a time when most people are unable to think clearly.

We think we are the first in the world to provide early warnings to mobile devices for earthquakes this close, and also to demonstrate rapid deployment of an EEW system after a major earthquake.

Tsunami Warning

Our system can also provide tsunami warnings. Tsunami – both in the sea and from landslides into lakes – frequently kill far more people than building collapse does in large earthquakes. New Zealand is considered to be among the highest risk countries in the world, with both the Alpine Fault and the poorly understood Hikurangi Subduction Zone having the potential to rupture in the near future.

Archaeological evidence of multiple tsunami on every major coastline of New Zealand – in some cases travelling many kilometres inland and even depositing whales 35 metres above sea level – suggests that we have been lucky to avoid deaths from tsunami since Europeans arrived.

Some existing tsunami warning systems have suffered from poor reliability despite being extremely expensive. We believe that our system can provide a robust tsunami warning system for New Zealand at an affordable cost.

Will we be ready for the "Next One"?

Geologists have raised concerns about the possibility of another large earthquake near Christchurch, and we'd like to start public trials of our EEW system in the Christchurch region as soon as possible.

A Japanese researcher has claimed that five seconds of early warning can give an 80% reduction in casualties. Our system can give 8-12 seconds warning to those in Christchurch for earthquakes like last year's magnitude 7.1, and from 30 seconds to a minute or more for an Alpine Fault earthquake.

We've spent many years developing a warning system that will function as well as possible over New Zealand's existing communications infrastructure, so that it can be deployed at a price New Zealand can afford. We have investors interested in funding the set-up of a nationwide Earthquake and Tsunami Warning system with the intention of then "taking it global".

Please contact us for more information, to express support for an Earthquake and Tsunami Warning system in New Zealand, or if you're interested in working for Roam3.