Sentinel™ · Earthquake early warning
Sentinel is New Zealand's first nationwide, ground-sensor earthquake early warning system. It gives people up to a minute of warning before strong shaking reaches them, depending on distance from the epicentre.
Limited public release
Sentinel earthquake early warning is now open in a limited public release. Businesses and organisations can get early warnings for their region ahead of wider release, and existing Sentinel customers can add it to their service. Individuals are welcome to sign up too.
When a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck near Te Anau in July 2026, Sentinel would have given someone in Queenstown around fifteen seconds of warning before the peak shaking arrived. Fifteen seconds is enough to drop, cover and hold, and move away from windows and anything that could fall. The further you are from the epicentre, the more warning you get, up to about a minute. So the question is a simple one: if you knew an earthquake was coming, what would your people do differently?
Actual warning time depends on distance from the epicentre; sites very close to it may receive little or none.
Detect. Our nationwide network continuously monitors seismic activity. The moment an earthquake begins, the system picks up the initial waves and confirms a significant event is underway.
Decide. Within the first seconds, real-time algorithms estimate the earthquake's size and location, and forecast the shaking expected across the whole of New Zealand.
Warn. If strong shaking is expected in your region, warnings go out to your people immediately.
Act. Your people take protective action before the shaking arrives: drop, cover and hold, move away from windows, and get clear of anything that could fall.
Early warning gives your people time to protect themselves. A few seconds can make a real difference, as long as everyone knows what to do.
Protect your people. Give staff and visitors seconds to protect themselves before strong shaking begins.
Prepare your organisation. Build the warning into how you already plan for earthquakes.
Sentinel early warning runs on a nationwide fleet of more than 500 ground sensors, the sensing infrastructure that makes rapid, reliable detection possible. It is backed by more than two decades of Canterbury Seismic engineering, supplying seismic instrumentation and services to New Zealand and the world, and has been running live in real time for almost three years.
Our mission is to reduce the impact of major earthquakes with seismic data people can trust and act on. Early warning was the missing piece in New Zealand's earthquake resilience, so we built and funded the Sentinel early warning system ourselves. That work has been recognised: Sentinel EEW is a finalist for Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good at the 2026 NZ Hi-Tech Awards.
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New Zealand's first nationwide, ground-sensor earthquake early warning system. It detects an earthquake as it begins and warns people before the strong shaking reaches them, with up to about a minute of warning depending on distance from the epicentre.
It depends on how far you are from the epicentre: up to about a minute further away, and little or none very close to it. The system forecasts the shaking expected in your region and warns you before it arrives.
Actual warning time depends on distance from the epicentre; sites very close to it may receive little or none.
Detect, decide, warn, act. A nationwide sensor network detects the first seismic waves, real-time algorithms estimate the size, location and expected shaking, and warnings go out to people in the affected region, who take protective action before the shaking arrives.
Drop, cover and hold. Move away from windows and anything that could fall. Warnings go to people, so it pays to build them into your existing earthquake drills.
Yes. Early warning runs on a nationwide fleet of more than 500 sensors covering New Zealand, and it is now open in a limited public release.
Sentinel early warning has been running live in real time for almost three years, and has been modelled against real recent events. For example, it would have given a person in Queenstown around fifteen seconds of warning before the peak shaking of the July 2026 Te Anau earthquake.
Actual warning time depends on distance from the epicentre; sites very close to it may receive little or none.
Warnings go to people today. If you're interested in bringing early warning into your own systems, talk to us about what's possible.