ShakeAlert News

ShakeAlert Adding Satellite Capabilities for Earthquake Warnings

The U.S. Geological Survey and its partners have come out with a new capability designed to characterize large earthquakes quickly in hopes of helping warn the public about potentially damaging shaking headed their way. The ShakeAlert System, currently available in …

California Earthquake False Alarm Offers a Lesson for Crisis Communicators

An earthquake false alarm nearly four years ago can teach disaster and emergency planners – and any crisis communicators, including insurers – a thing or two about communicating to the public during and after a crisis. In May 2019, an …

California Railroad Testing Use of Quake Alerts to Halt Trains

A Southern California regional passenger rail service announced that it is testing technology that will use the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system to automatically slow or stop trains before shaking begins. The five-county Metrolink system said the technology is …

Earthquake Warning System Rolling Out in Oregon, Washington

The earthquake early warning system known as ShakeAlert will be capable of delivering alerts directly to wireless devices in Oregon on March 11 and to Washington state in May, completing the West Coast rollout, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The …

Earthquake Warning App Coming to Washington Next Year

Washington state officials have announced an earthquake warning phone application is expected to be available for download October 2020. KING-TV reports that the app ShakeAlert was designed to send people an alert on how much time they have before earthquake …

Oregon Lagging on Disaster Preparedness, Scientists Warn

Oregon state lawmakers abandoned a multimillion-dollar project to develop early warning systems for earthquakes and wildfires, and scientists warn that the funding shake-up could endanger public safety and put Oregon further behind other West Coast states in preparing for natural …

West Coast Quake Warning System up and Running

Automated alerts from the fledgling West Coast earthquake early warning system are ready to be used broadly by businesses, utilities, schools and other entities but not for mass public notification, officials said Wednesday. “We’re making a large change from a …

California, Pacific Northwest Schools Get $4M for Earthquake Early Warning Systems

The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded $4 million to four universities in the Pacific Northwest and California to boost the development of earthquake early warning systems. The University of Washington, the University of Oregon, the California Institute of Technology and …