ShakeAlert Earthquake Warning System Launching Soon
ShakeAlert, a new earthquake early warning system, is nearing the end of its development life cycle and is almost ready for deployment. The system is being built through a partnership of several universities on the west coast, and is targeting being fully functional by the early 2020s. This is clearly a welcome development for residents of California and surrounding states, because earthquake forecasting, while improved, is still not 100% accurate in many cases.
What is ShakeAlert?
The system consists of a network of 1,675 sensors across California, Oregon and Washington designed to provide real time earthquake monitoring and communication. The sensors measure seismic activity, and will send mass wireless alerts to smartphones and similar devices of local residents, utilities and government agencies up to a minute before the ground starts to shake. In addition to the alerts, ShakeAlert can automatically stop trains, open firehouse doors and even close fuel pipeline valves.
So far, about 60% of the sensors have been successfully installed, and the remaining sensors should be up and running within the next 2-3 years. GPS receivers are also being set up that work hand-in-hand with the sensors to determine the amount of pressure build-up and how violently the ground can be expected to shake, among other things.
The main advantage of the ShakeAlert system is that it does not rely on the identification of known faults, which is critical because scientists have not been able to identify all the faults in existence due to their fluidity and evolving nature. Although the last 3 decades have produced tremendous advancements is earthquake detection technology, ShakeAlert will be able to bring all the data together in a way that enables rapid dissemination to the public.
Check out this article for comprehensive details on ShakeAlert as well as some of the other technological advancements that have been made with respect to earthquake detection over the last few decades.
Although I do not see much earthquake activity in my neck of the woods, I see this new system as a tremendous advancement for utilities in earthquake-prone areas. Not only will it save lives, but the data will be paramount to helping utilities react and respond to an earthquake emergency in a more efficient and effective manner.
