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By Maria Caspani
LONDON (AlertNet) - A new, free app that will send alerts to people’s phones once an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or higher is detected was unveiled in Mexico this week, the BBC reports.
Introduced by the mayor of Mexico City Marcelo Ebrard, the Blackberry app will send out alerts that will make phones beep and vibrate even if the devices are on silent mode.
Ebrard said that the app has been developed for Blackberry as its devices are the only ones able to send out mass alerts quickly enough.
Blackberry has been given access to the signal that is operated by Mexico's Seismological Service, which continuously monitors for earthquake activity throughout the country.
Even if these alerts give Mexicans just a few seconds to evacuate buildings and take shelter in safe locations, the BBC article said Mexican authorities believe the system could allow people to adopt safer positions and help save lives in the event of a major earthquake.
Two powerful tremors rattled quake-prone Mexico on March 21 and April 2, the first of the two destroying at least 100 houses while damaging 1,000, and triggering landslides.
At least 100 houses collapsed and 1,000 were damaged near the epicenter in the municipality of Ometepec in Guerrero state.
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