Information on how to get mobile phone alerts for a CA earthquake

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Visitors cross Highway 178 next to a fault left by an earthquake on the road near Ridgecrest, California, in 2019. Mobile phone users in California, Washington and Oregon can receive earthquake early warning messages. Marcio Jose Sanchez AP Profile Read more from Life on San Andreas: 4-part series

This is a 4-part series on life in Parkfield, California, the science of its seismology, and its distinction as the “Seismic Capital of the World.”

At about 9:35 p.m. on May 6, cell phones across Northern California uniformly flashed to life.

“Earthquake. Drop! Cover, cover! Hold on!” The message was launched. “Expected shaking.”

An earthquake had just struck near Truckee, and seismic waves were traveling through the state at thousands of miles per hour. In the moments after the rumbling began, automatic alerts went out for phones in areas where a strong jolt was expected. People are diving under tables and desks.

Fortunately, the earthquake was smaller than expected, and most of the area was spared the harmful vibrations.

Should a major earthquake occur in the future, these quick warnings could save lives, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Pan’s jewelry after the San Simeon earthquake. Photo taken on December 22, 2003. [email protected] Californians live in earthquake country

According to the USGS, tens of thousands of earthquakes occur in California each year.

Just this week, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck north of Pinnacles National Monument, with shaking being felt from the Bay Area to Nipomo and the Far East as far as Fresno.

Most earthquakes are too small or too deep to be felt. But all too often a major earthquake strikes, wreaking havoc on the lives of those around.

The 2003 San Simeon earthquake, which caused two deaths and significant damage in the neighboring region of Paso Robles, was a reminder of the dangers of living near the San Andreas Fault.

According to seismologists, it is undeniable that a devastating earthquake will strike California in the future.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly where, when, and how large this earthquake will be.

Fortunately, Californians have a valuable tool to reduce the casualties that could result: earthquake early warning messages.

ShakeAlert, the western US earthquake notification system, has been providing quick alerts about earthquakes since 2019.

The alert system gives users seconds to hide

ShakeAlert was officially launched to the public in California on October 17, 2019, the 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Since then, the system has sent warnings during 43 earthquakes, said Richard Allen, director of the Berkeley Laboratory of Seismology at UC Berkeley.

ShakeAlert became available in Washington and Oregon earlier this year.

The system does not predict future earthquakes. Instead, it sends a notification that an earthquake is already in progress.

“Seismic waves take time to travel from where the earthquake begins underground to anywhere on the surface,” Allen said.

The ShakeAlert system, developed by the USGS and several other organizations, takes advantage of this delay and a network of vibration sensors, known as seismographs, that are deployed in the western United States.

When an earthquake hits, seismographs close to the epicenter — the point on the surface directly above the starting point of the rupture — detect the first seismic waves.

Computers use information about those initial waves, such as height and shape, to quickly calculate the location and magnitude of the earthquake and how much shaking will occur across the region.

When earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater occur, automatic notifications are then sent to mobile phones located in places where the shaking will be strongest.

“The flaws we have to worry about, certainly in California, are basically under our feet,” Allen said. This means that the algorithm must be fast in order to issue warnings in a timely manner.

He said ShakeAlert notifications can give “seconds to possibly tens of seconds of warning”.

This is enough time to take cover.

Even if it’s only a few seconds, those could be lifesaving seconds,” said Brian Forgoson, a spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).

If you feel shaky or get alerted, cover up and cover, experts advise. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

In general, the further away you are from the epicenter, the longer the waves will arrive, and the more warning you will get before the strong shaking begins. Unfortunately, near the epicenter, seismic waves may arrive before the calculations are made – which means that the alert will not come in time.

Cell phones are not the only way to distribute ShakeAlert messages.

In San Francisco, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has integrated earthquake early warnings since 2012. If an alert is issued, trains are slowed or stopped, according to BART.

The systems also automatically open station doors in many local fire departments, Forgosson said, “so firefighters don’t spend the first hour of emergency response cutting their fire trucks from the fire station.”

He said some hospitals are using earthquake early warnings, giving surgeons in operating rooms time to position their instruments before the shaking begins.

How to register

Before the earthquake hit, Forgosson urged to make sure your phone is set up to receive ShakeAlert notifications.

“We (the audience) want to have the tool,” he said.

According to Cal OES, Californians can receive ShakeAlert messages via their phones via Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). This system is used for a variety of alerts, including Presidential alerts about national emergencies and Amber alerts about missing children.

Also, iPhone users can install the MyShake app, which was developed by UC Berkeley researchers.

Android users will automatically receive alerts if location services and notifications are turned on.

For information on these services, visit gov/get-alerts/.

According to experts, if you feel a shake, get down on the floor, cover your head and neck, and if possible, crawl under a nearby table or desk. Then wait until the shaking stops. Earthquake Country Alliance ShakeOut.org What to do in an earthquake

If you get an alert or feel shaking, the first thing you need to do is “land, cover, and wait,” according to the Earthquake Country Alliance, a multi-institutional advocacy organization to increase earthquake resistance in California.

Never run out of a building, according to the group. Earthquakes can produce violent shaking, and injuries are likely when people try to move.

In the event of an earthquake, experts warn people to stand in doorways.

The popular belief that it was the safest place came from old photos of collapsed buildings with door frames still standing, according to the Earthquake Country Alliance.

In modern construction, door frames are not stronger than any other part of the building. The open entrance provides no protection from falling or flying objects, which are a significant source of injury.

The seconds of warning messages provided by ShakeAlert messages are enough to sit under a table or desk.

But Forgosson noted that you can’t take advantage of the alert if you don’t get it.

Related stories from the San Luis Obispo Tribune

Jane Schmidt is an AAAS Fellow covering natural hazards and science news. PhD completed. She received her PhD in Earth Sciences at Lehigh University in 2018. She is an NSF-sponsored Postdoctoral Fellow at Temblor Inc. , where it operates Temblor Earthquake News.

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