Kathmandu, April 22 -- Earthquakes would be less scary if they could be forecast, like the weather. Small quakes would no longer be startling, and there could be early warning of bigger quakes, preventing a greater loss of life.

In seismic zones like Nepal, it is not a question of 'if' but 'when' an earthquake will strike. And most gadgets that detect earthquakes are either false alarms or come just a few seconds before the violent shaking starts.

Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) are instruments which can buy people 5-60 seconds before an earthquake hits, depending on distance from the epicenter. This is not a lot of time, but often enough to get out of a building and head to safety.

EEWS do not forecast an earthquake, but the ...