California releases first statewide earthquake warning system

Author : Jason Plautz @Jason_Plautz Published: October 22, 2019

Dive Brief:

  • The state of California has launched the nation's first statewide earthquake warning system, which will notify residents via smartphone before an earthquake hits. The California Earthquake Early Warning System will give people valuable seconds to prepare for an incident.

  • The system relies on thousands of ground motion sensors, which detect underground motion before humans can detect it, and sends warning through the ShakeAlert program developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Initially, people will get warnings for earthquakes larger than magnitude 4.5 in their geographic area.

  • According to the state government, people will get up to 20 seconds of warning, but the amount of advance notice will vary based on distance from the epicenter of the earthquake. For severe earthquakes, the state will use emergency broadcast systems to send a warning to every cell phone in the state.

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Chelsea McCullough