Turkish Engineers Create ‘Earthquake Black Box System’ to Prevent Disasters

Inspired by airplane black boxes, a team of 10 engineers in Izmir, Turkey, has developed a groundbreaking “Earthquake Black Box System” to tackle the challenges associated with earthquakes, Hurriyet Daily News reported yesterday.

The system is designed to take preventive measures, aid rescue missions, and pinpoint the locations of survivors during and after seismic events.

“Since most of Türkiye is located in earthquake zones, complete urban transformation will take a significant amount of time,” explained Professor Dr. Zafer Akçığ, the founder of the Dokuz Eylül University’s Earthquake Center. “While earthquakes are inevitable, the destruction they cause is not. We identified a crucial issue during the Feb. 6 earthquakes – people trapped alive under rubble for the first 72 hours could not be reached. This system is designed to save these lives.”

The system features two black boxes installed in each building, one on the ground floor and another on the roof. Upon detecting an earthquake, the ground-floor black box triggers several safety measures, including sounding an alarm, cutting off water and natural gas supplies, stabilizing elevators for safe evacuation, and shutting off the gas supply at the main valve.

“Our primary focus is rescuing the living and unconscious during the critical 72-hour window,” said Akçığ. “After that period, the chances of survival significantly decrease, and our goal then shifts to recovering bodies with minimal damage.”

This innovative system aims to revolutionize earthquake preparedness and response, potentially saving countless lives in the aftermath of these natural disasters.