The California Earthquake Early Warning System marries a smartphone application with traditional alert and warning delivery methods such as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The system uses ground motion sensors from across the state to detect earthquakes before humans can feel them and notifies you in real time.

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems use science, state-of-the-art ground motion monitoring, as well as new and existing alerting methods to deliver warnings to people via cell phones before the strongest shaking arrives. Seconds to tens of seconds of alert can provide opportunity to take life-saving actions such as Drop, Cover, and Hold On and put devices into various forms of a safe mode. The speed of the alert will vary depending on one’s distance from the origin of the earthquake. The closer one is to origin, the quicker one will receive the alert. In some cases people may receive an alert once they feel shaking or after an earthquake passes.

How Can Just a Few Seconds Help

• Public Warning – Alert individuals to take protective actions such as Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
• First Responder Mobilization – Open fire station doors for rapid deployment of emergency response equipment and personnel.
• Health Care – Notify medical providers to stabilize and/or stop delicate procedures and maintain critical medical facility operations.
• Utility Infrastructure – Safeguard energy sector grid and other utilities infrastructure for strong shaking with warning alarms and automatic controls to prevent combustions, flooding, and loss of water distribution systems.
• Mass Transit Systems – Prevent fatal collisions or derailments by automatically slowing and/or stopping trains, clearing bridges, and diverting inbound airport traffic.
• Workplace Safety – Employees take protective actions, initiate elevator recall procedures to ground floor, place sensitive equipment in safe mode, secure hazardous materials, and halt production lines to reduce damage.