ShakeAlertLA

ShakeAlertLA: Earthquake Early Warning System

Earthquake early warning system for Los Angeles County, detecting earthquakes and sending alerts for automatic protective actions

What is ShakeAlertLA?

ShakeAlertLA is an earthquake early warning system created through a partnership between the United States Geological Survey (USGS), California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), and AT&T to provide early warnings for earthquakes in Los Angeles County.

The system uses hundreds of ground motion sensors across California to quickly detect earthquake activity. When an earthquake is detected, alerts are sent to distribution partners in Los Angeles County before significant shaking arrives at their locations. This advanced warning, ranging from a few seconds to over a minute, allows organizations and the public to automatically take protective actions to reduce loss of life and property damage.

Partners receiving ShakeAlertLA notifications include the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LA Unified School District, LA World Airports, fire and police departments, businesses, and other critical facilities. Automatic safety actions they can take when alerts are issued include slowing trains to decrease derailment risk, opening firehouse doors so they are not jammed shut, triggering automated system backups, and many other precautions.

In addition to automatic notifications for partners, the ShakeAlertLA mobile app is also available to provide users earthquake early warnings. This allows people to drop, cover, and hold on in advance of shaking. Studies by Caltech and UC Berkeley estimate effective public earthquake early warnings enabled by ShakeAlertLA could prevent hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries, and millions in property damage annually across California.

ShakeAlertLA Features

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