Estimation of Earthquake Early Warning Parameters for Eastern Sicily

Abstract

Abstract Earthquake early warning systems (EEWSs) are becoming a suitable instrument for seismic risk management in real time. In fact, they are implemented or are undergoing testing in many countries around the world because EEWSs represent an effective approach to mitigating seismic risk on a short timescale. EEWSs are based on the use of relationships between some parameters measured on the initial portion of seismic signal after the onsets. Here, we address the first approach to the implementation of EEWS in eastern Sicily, a region that has been hit by several destructive earthquakes. We estimated the peak displacement amplitude of the first portion of P and S waves P d , the ground‐motion period parameter τ c , and the peak ground velocity (PGV) from earthquakes with M L ≥2.8 recorded by the broadband stations operated by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. We found that the P d is correlated with the size of the earthquake and may be used to compute the magnitude for an EEWS in this area. We also derived the relationships between τ c and M L , and between P d and PGV, which can be used to provide on‐site warning in the area around a given station and to evaluate the potential damaging effects. These relationships may be deemed a useful guide for future implementation of the EEWS in the region.