Experts from the China Seismological Bureau say they can obtain accurate data such as the position, scale, and time of an earthquake within 15 minutes in the so-called "Capital earthquake damage prevention and control demonstration area". This area covers Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province.
From 1998 to 2000, state and local governments invested more than 200 million yuan (US$ 24.2 million) in the renovation of the earthquake monitoring and information network, and emergency control system in the demonstration area.
Following the renovation, data collected from 107 quake monitoring stations in the area are transmitted non-stop via satellite and digital data channels to the monitoring center. The recent earthquake in Inner Mongolia, for example, has been monitored closely and accurately.
(CCTV.com August 18, 2003)
