Local News in Brief : Quake-Detecting Device Installed
A detection system has been installed to shut off natural gas at the Los Angeles Music Center in the event of an earthquake.
A Van Nuys company installed the device at the center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, which houses a 3,200-seat auditorium and restaurants, to automatically cut natural gas to the downtown complex up to 72 seconds before an earthquake measuring 5.4 or higher on the Richter scale.
An official of Earthquake Safety Engineering, a firm that provides quake-related engineering services for nuclear power plants and other facilities, said the $10,600 system works by tracking the three waves of seismic activity during an earthquake, starting with the initial wave, which travels faster and has less physical impact than subsequent waves that can cause damage.
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