Seconds before an earthquake, half a million smartphones started vibrating

0
47
shake alert.jpg
shake alert.jpg

In the moments before a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Northern California coast on Monday, half a million phones began to vibrate.

The US Geological Survey’s managed early warning system. He sent out warnings before the ground started to shake giving area residents vital time to take cover.

The earthquake caused major shaking but minimal damage in Humboldt County, about 210 kilometers northwest of San Francisco.

It was the largest earthquake to occur since the system, known as ShakeAlert, was officially launched on the entire West Coast.

“We received some reports from people who received the warning up to 10 seconds before they felt the tremor. That’s very good”said Robert de Groot, ShakeAlert coordinator at the USGS.

This event gave scientists and system operators the opportunity to test and improve ShakeAlert to make it even better when the next major earthquake occurs.

“We can do as many simulations and tests as possible, but we are really going to learn more from real earthquakes.”said de Groot. “It gives us the opportunity to use the system and learn how to do a better job of alerting people.”

ShakeAlert issues alerts through a number of agencies and apps, such as MyShakeApp, public wireless emergency alert systems and the Android operating system. A data packet is created from the information provided by the USGS sensors and, in a matter of seconds, appears on the phones.

Affected people are told to get down on the ground, cover themselves, and hold on. Having extra seconds to do it can save lives.

SEE ALSO  Caring for a cell phone: 7 tips that don't fail