MyShake earthquake warning app is now available in WA | North West

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Jan. 26 — Every second counts before an earthquake strikes, and some Washington residents may be getting more now that a new earthquake warning app is available.

In Washington, there are already two warning systems, but the MyShake app offers a third and possibly faster option, the state says. The app, which was first launched in 2019, sends alerts in California and Oregon. It became available in Washington on Wednesday.

The MyShake app can be downloaded for free through the Apple App Stores or Google Play.

The app was created by California seismologists and engineers and funded by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

“Access to tools like the MyShake app will help you, your family, and your community better prepare and have a more positive outcome in the event of an earthquake,” Kristina Carey, deputy director of the office, said in a press release. “We are pleased to share this resource with our neighbors on the West Coast.”

Alerts based on information collected by the USGS’s ShakeAlert earthquake warning system were previously available through the Wireless Emergency Alert System, or WEA, the alert system built into Android phones.

MyShake and built-in Android send alerts for earthquakes greater than 4.5, while WEA will do so for earthquakes greater than 5.0.

The USGS became active in California in late 2019, Oregon in March 2021 and Washington in May. However, the alert system has seen a delay in its rollout, because the federal agency has left it up to states to implement the system locally.

Now, ShakeAlert warnings are available to more than 50 million people across the three states.

WEA is built as a global alert system intended for new and old mobile devices, according to Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. That’s why the system doesn’t reach everyone uniformly, while the MyShake and Android built-in have a lower wake-up limit and depend on cellular service and Wi-Fi.

“The main message is that redundancy is also good — 99.99% of the time nothing happens, but when an earthquake happens, you want the alert to actually get to you,” Tobin said.

The system relies on 1,150 seismometers placed along the west coast that can locate and transmit an earthquake.

About 394 seismic stations are spread across Washington, about 230 of which contribute data to ShakeAlert, according to the University of Washington.

Seismographs closest to the epicenter will detect the initial and faster P waves and relay this information before the slower, more destructive S waves arrive.

Living further from the epicenter may slow down the alert. Living near it can make it almost meaningless.

Residents of Seattle, Tacoma and other cities along the Puget Sound can get a minute’s warning if a shift in the Cascadia Subduction causes a massive marine earthquake.

While many seismometers are concentrated along the coast, the best and fastest way to detect marine earthquakes is by installing marine seismographs underwater.

“There are only two of those now and they can’t contribute quickly enough to be part of the alert system,” Tobin said. “We would like to grow exponentially in the future but this will require new funding from the federal government.”

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