California Governor Gavin Newsom said many Californians received warning before major tremors occurred following the magnitude 5.2 earthquake that struck Kern County on Tuesday, thanks to a nation-first early warning system.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in Lamont, California, but it was felt in many parts of Southern California.
The early warning system “ShakeAlert” – managed by the USGS – detects earthquakes in California. The agency works with apps such as “MyShake” that send alerts to mobile phones.
The governor’s office said MyShake had sent more than 517,000 alerts and that even more Californians had received alerts thanks to a partnership between the state and Google, which has integrated alert software into the Android operating system of its mobile phones.
Richard Allen works at the UC Berkeley seismology lab that runs MyShake. He said some users in LA received an alert 20 to 30 seconds before the quake started on Tuesday.
“There’s always a small region around the epicenter of the earthquake where we can’t get the warning out fast enough to warn people. But for people a little further away, there can be a long warning time,” Allen said. “Our goal with earthquake early warning is that it really only lasts a few seconds, a handful of seconds. When you get the warning, you should be ready for the earthquake, lie down, take cover and hold on.”
The earthquake early warning industry is constantly evolving.
Residents across Southern California reported being shaken by the 5.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Kern County. Darsha Philips reports for NBC4 News at 11 p.m. Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
Josh Bashioum is the founder and CEO of Early Warning Labs. The company works with hospitals, schools and transportation teams. Using ShakeAlert data, the company determines the strength of an earthquake in a specific location. If the strength exceeds a predetermined threshold, alerts are sent, which can range from slowing trains to an announcement at school.
“We create a customized alert for specific locations, not a general alert like LA,” Bashioum said. “When the earthquake happens, our system does all the work. OK, how bad is it going to be at this LA Unified School? OK, if it’s above their threshold and could be dangerous for kids, the alert level is suspended, they hide under their desks and wait for the quake to stop.”
One of their partners is LA Metro. They have sensors in 27 different locations.
“So for each of these 27 LA Metro locations, we’re going to calculate how strong the quake will be within one second, and then we’re going to systematically trigger either an audible notification or mechanical responses or not (depending on the severity of the earthquake at each location),” Bashioum said.
The ShakeAlert team hopes that people, businesses, schools and transportation companies will use all the technology available.
“People need to be aware that they live in an earthquake zone,” said Robert de Groot, head of the ShakeAlert response team.
“This is not the last time something like this happens. Anything that people can use, any tool they can add to their toolbox to improve their security is really important.”
“Keep doing what you’ve always done. Take cover and hold on tight if you feel a tremor. Or have your disaster supplies ready if you get an alert,” he added. “Over time, you’ll see ShakeAlert being used in many, many more places.”
