LOS ANGELES _ California officials will launch the first-ever earthquake early warning app for all of the state's residents Thursday. Authorities will also begin issuing quake early warnings through the Wireless Emergency Alert system, offering text message alerts even for people who have not downloaded the app.
The MyShake app, built by the University of California, Berkeley and funded by the California Office of Emergency Services, will on Thursday morning begin to publicly broadcast earthquake early warnings for OS and Android users who have downloaded the program. Officials are urging smartphone users to download the app, which will provide warnings at a more sensitive threshold than through the text-messaging system.
The announcement will come on the 30th anniversary of the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, which caused a section of the Bay Bridge and Interstate 880 in Oakland to collapse and buildings across the region to suffer damage, from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, the largest city closest to the epicenter. Had an earthquake early warning system been available then, people at Candlestick Park watching the World Series between the A's and Giants would have received a 15-second warning before strong shaking hit the ballpark.
Until now, only smartphone users physically in Los Angeles County who have downloaded the city of Los Angeles' ShakeAlertLA app _ released 10 months ago _ have been able to receive earthquake early warnings.
Earthquake warnings work on a simple principle: Seismic shaking travels at the speed of sound through rock _ which is slower than the speed of today's communications systems. A warning time of a few seconds can save lives, allowing utilities to turn off large high-pressure fuel lines, doctors to stop surgeries, transit agencies to slow trains and schoolchildren to shelter under desks.
The MyShake app alerts rely on the U.S. Geological Survey's backbone ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, which has received greater financial support from state and federal elected officials in recent years. It relies on hundreds of sensors installed throughout the state; officials are still working on filling gaps in the system in rural areas of California as well as in Oregon and Washington state.
