Infrastructure protectionChile relies on new technologies to cope with frequent earthquakes

Citizens of Chile are used to the ground shaking beneath their feet. In the past two years alone Chile has experienced more than forty earthquakes with magnitudes of six or higher.

With so many earthquakes and the potential of thousands dying yearly, Chilean authorities are using new methods to protect their citizens from death and buildings from damage.

The BBC reports that Sirve, a company that specializes in seismic protection technologies, has developed an isolation system that helps building remain intact during an earthquake.

In the thirteen buildings the firm has put up, steel structures act as shock absorbers, supporting the buildings from below, while massive concrete blocks hang inside buildings acting as a pendulum and offsetting the movement of the ground.

“It is a tremendous challenge to use engineering to counteract a natural phenomenon that is unpredictable and very complex.” Juan Carlos de la Llera, co-founder and president of Sirve told BBC News.

The firm claims that their technology can reduce structural damage in a building with fewer than fifteen floors by up to 90 percent, and if the building has more than fifteen floors, by up to 50 percent

When an earthquake with an 8.8 magnitude hit Chile in 2010, it killed 525 people and caused millions of dollars in damages — but all thirteen structures built by Sirve’s system remained standing, including the tallest building in the country.

The success of Sirve’s system has tripled the demand for their services in 2011, and the company is now putting their system in low income housing around the county.

Another problem created by the constant earthquakes in the country is water scarcity. Some areas of the country had their access to water cut off in the past because of pipes that were broken or damaged by earthquakes.

Thol, a water delivery company based in Atlanta, Georgia, has been hired by Chilean authorities to help with the situation. Thol’s system uses a pipeline made of polyethylene, a flexible, durable material which is easy to transport. The pipeline is put into a water source, while the opposite end is attached to a helicopter and dragged to areas where water is needed.

The company ran its first test this summer in the town of San Jose de Maiopo in the Chilean Andes, but the system has yet to be used in a disaster situation. The pipeline can run uninterrupted anywhere from 1,500 feet to several miles.

Chilean authorities also came up with a new communication system to warn citizens of a potential earthquake, or to give them emergency updates after one has hit.

The software, developed by eVigilo a company based in Israel, uses a geo-targeted system that allows the officials to send out a mass text alert to computes, pager, and cell phones on the system. It can also send messages through television and radio.

The messages will reach millions within seconds, even if all networks are busy.

“It’s important for the state to have alternative tools allowing it to communicate with people,” Feliks Vainik, co-founder of eVigilio told the BBC.

Sirve’s De la Llera hopes these systems can help save lives and as well as keep Chile from having to rebuild as often. “By nature, humans endlessly seek different ways to overcome natural forces like climate, earthquakes and many other natural disasters,” de la Llera told BBC. “In my way of seeing it, there’s no reason today not to protect [us] from earthquakes if the technology exists to do it.”