How Mexicans know when an earthquake is coming

MEXICO CITY shook and rattled on April 18th, as a 7.2-magnitude earthquake sent people scurrying under tables for shelter. Tremors are a frequent scare for the city’s 20m or so residents, who experience dozens of small shudders a year. But the panic is lessened by the fact that people know the earthquake is coming a couple of minutes before the ground starts to tremble. Before this month’s big rumble, many Mexicans had already filed outside to await the wobble in safety, away from falling ceilings. Nowhere else in the world is able to forecast earthquakes in this way. How do the Mexicans do it? - See more at: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/04/economist-explains-14#sthash.P8FaBe3y.dpuf

Animals can serve as an early warning system as well if heeded.

If I heeded my dogs' behavior as warning signs, I would spend day and night out in the street.

What I don't get is this some sort of siren, public address system, bell? Do they have practice drills?

There is an early warning system that pages cell phones , they have stations on ocean the shore that detect earthquakes as early as 1 minute.
Check : http://skyalert.com.mx/

It can't be that much of an early warning system - it happened on April 18th and I am just finding out about it.

We had a 4.0 in Oregon and the dogs were upset for about 20/30 seconds before the rumbling started. I than figured out what they were trying to tell me.

when we got the 6.9 a couple of months ago, the house creaking and cacking is what woke me up, not any kind of emergency system and same with all of my neighbors.

Zedinmexico wrote:We had a 4.0 in Oregon and the dogs were upset for about 20/30 seconds before the rumbling started.

Unless the epicenter was two feet under our house, our dog wouldn't bother to raise its head at a 4.0.

How Mexicans know when an earthquake is coming ...
the Cruz Roja put on a fund drive.

(10 more tickets available!)

Rosa Venus wrote:

Zedinmexico wrote:We had a 4.0 in Oregon and the dogs were upset for about 20/30 seconds before the rumbling started.

Unless the epicenter was two feet under our house, our dog wouldn't bother to raise its head at a 4.0.

To be honest these were work dogs (Dobie and Boceron sp) and quite tuned to everything. I am not saying my Newfoundland would have waken up either:-)

Z

Beauceron, they come from an area called La Beauce, a large fertile plain around Paris wih very large farms-It is one of th richest agricultural area in France, a large plain without any trees.

brigitte wrote:Beauceron, they come from an area called La Beauce, a large fertile plain around Paris wih very large farms-It is one of th richest  agricultural area in France, a large plain without any trees.

Thank You.... It was a wonderful dog. We saved it from a bad military history. He tamed down wonderfully but it was a dog you respected. No baby talk like dealing with a lab or such. Most proud smartest dog I have ever met. Kinda dog that was perfectly safe but you didn't reach down to pet unless you asked first.
I miss him still. I consider myself lucky for having one. He died in my arms.

Z