Sri Lanka has expanded the monitoring facilities to decode earthquakes with the installation of two new seismic monitoring stations at Mahakanadarawa and Hakmana in North Central and Southern Provinces which linked to GSMB Head Office Dehiwala, said GSMB Chairman Dr N A Wijayananda.

Sri Lanka is now awarded with three such stations including Pallekele which was established earlier, he added.

The Geological Surveys and Mines Bureau under which these systems are operating had been able to decode the earthquake which took place off shore in Japan last Friday within just eleven minutes, the Chairman said.

"With the recent enhancement global earthquake signals through modern and highly sophisticated equipment gifted by German Government on an MOU with the GSMB Sri Lanka now can read all medium and large scale earth quakes happening in any part of the world, and we are highly benefited", Dr Wijayananda emphasized.

He said that the particular earthquake took place at 5.46 gmt and the GSMBs Dehiwla Head Office was able to decode the signals at 5.57 GMT with the help of high tech seismic mechanism available there.

If a serious type of earthquake is taking place in Java-Sumathra sub-duction zone the seismic signals would be decoded in Sri Lanka at Dehiwala GSMB Seismic Monitoring System within two to three minutes, the Chairman further stated.