China plans to establish an Earthquake Warning System to quickly record and report seismic activity across the country. Over 15 thousand monitoring stations are set to be built, state news outlet Xinhua reports.

Currently, the initial design for the system is underway. Construction on the project is expected to start at the end of 2017 and the project is to be completed in five years.

The system is designed to provide information on devastating earthquakes in seconds after it occurs.

Jin Xing, the chief designer of the project, said that when earthquakes happen, the S wave, the most disruptive kind of seismic waves, spreads in all directions with a speed of 3.5 kilometers per second. If the earthquake warning can be issued within 10 seconds after the wave occurs, people within the earthquake destruction area will have more time to react or even escape before the S wave arrives.

Officials say the investment in the project is expected to reach 1.85 billion yuan.

The system will also be able to release the basic parameters of an earthquake within 1 or 2 minutes, issue information on seismic intensity within 2 to 5 minutes, and provide an earthquake disaster assessment after 30 minutes.

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