Earthquake Warning California First Responder’s Toolkit
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) invites Californians and visitors to join the Earthquake Warning California’s “Don’t Get Caught Off Guard” earthquake early warning awareness campaign.
Earthquakes can and will happen throughout California. Earthquake Warning California provides free tools — the MyShake App, Android Earthquake Alerts, and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) — to supplement existing resources and give users a few extra moments to take cover and warn others before an earthquake. Understanding how to recognize alerts and what to do when receiving a warning is critical.
Cal OES is urging public safety organizations and first responders to help spread the word about the importance of being earthquake prepared, understand the capabilities of Earthquake Warning California resources, and know what to do when an earthquake warning goes out.
To receive monthly updates on earthquake preparedness news, events, technology, and other resources, sign up for our e-newsletter at earthquake.ca.gov.
The following information can be tailored and shared with friends, family, and others via newsletters, social media posts, and email blasts. For questions email earthquakeinfo@caloes.ca.gov.
Share the text below through email, newsletters, or other channels. Personalize it as needed.
Did You Know? Most Californians say they are very or somewhat knowledgeable about the steps they can take to prepare for a natural disaster such as an earthquake, yet 60% remain highly concerned about the potential impact of a disaster on their household. To ensure all Californians are prepared, the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) recently launched the “Don’t Get Caught Off Guard” campaign to promote awareness of critical earthquake warning resources available at no-cost through Earthquake Warning California.
Earthquake Warning California’s “Don’t Get Caught Off Guard” campaign is a statewide education effort to help the public learn about earthquake warning tools and resources. Cal OES, in collaboration with the California Integrated Seismic Network Partners from United States Geological Survey (USGS), University of California – Berkeley (UCB), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and California Geological Survey (CGS) launched the nation’s first State Earthquake Early Warning System in October of 2019. The system uses ground motion sensors and sensors in smartphones to detect an earthquake before humans can feel it and issues a ShakeAlert® Message in real time so they can take cover before shaking happens. An earthquake warning can provide additional life-saving seconds for people to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
Earthquake Warning California resources include:
- Information about constructing an emergency plan
- How to protect yourself and your family before, during and after an earthquake
- Android Earthquake Alerts developed in partnership with Cal OES and USGS
- The MyShake App — a smartphone app developed in partnership with Cal OES and UC Berkeley that can provide users with a few seconds of notification that shaking is about to occur
- Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) — free notifications delivered to cell phones in emergency situations
- Information for first responders to plan for life-saving actions in the event of an alert, such as opening fire station doors before earthquake, powering down equipment, or bringing elevators to an emergency stop
- Links to the California Integrated Seismic Network Partners for additional technical and system information
When you receive a warning or feel shaking, you should take protective actions (drop to the ground, cover your head with your arms, and hold onto your neck with both hands) until shaking stops, avoiding doorways and windows.
Public safety officers and first responders can take steps to keep themselves and the community safe by downloading the MyShake App, or enabling Android Earthquake Alerts or WEAs, to receive a notification as soon as sensors detect significant seismic activity. Individuals should ensure they are familiar with how to receive warnings and respond to them. Location services must be “always on” for the technology to connect to nearby ground sensors.
Public safety officers and first responders should discuss scenarios with staff and colleagues to determine how to best incorporate earthquake warnings into existing emergency response plans. For first responders, this might include steps like opening fire doors to ensure trucks can exit once shaking stops or safely slowing down and pulling over a police car. Public safety organizations should also determine whether automatic functions can be implemented to respond to earthquake warnings. By being prepared ahead of time, California hopes to reduce the devastating impact of earthquakes and keep Californians and visitors safe.
To learn which resources are available to you and how to react, visit www.earthquake.ca.gov. There, you can also sign up for our monthly e-newsletter with the latest news and information about California’s earthquake warning system.
Social Media (Graphics)
The following can be tailored and used on personal social media pages or by organizations to help spread awareness about Earthquake Warning California. Hashtags (#) help others looking for information to see trending posts, while using the @ symbol tags other organizations (use @Cal_OES for Twitter and @CaliforniaOES for Facebook).
- California is a high-risk area for earthquakes. The #MyShake App, #AndroidAlerts, and #WEA are three ways to receive warning moments before an earthquake so you can stay safe. Visit earthquake.ca.gov
- Earthquake preparedness is a community-wide concern. Lack of planning for an emergency can also put public safety workers at risk when attempting to rescue. Learn how each community member can be #EarthquakeWarningCA at earthquake.ca.gov.
- Our fire station plans to be one-step ahead of an earthquake with #EarthquakeWarningCA. Earthquake warnings provide a few extra moments for us to open garage doors, allowing us to deploy first responders quickly. Learn more at earthquake.ca.gov.
- First responders rely on the community to help the recovery after an earthquake. Earthquake warnings are available at no-cost and provide a few extra moments to take cover. Visit earthquake.ca.gov
- The #EarthquakeWarningCA can prevent injuries and fatalities during an earthquake. Visit earthquake.ca.gov to learn how to receive free earthquake warnings.
- #Earthquake Preparedness Checklist:
- Visit earthquake.ca.gov ?️
- Learn about earthquake warnings from the #MyShake App, #AndroidAlerts, and #WEA
- Ensure emergency warnings are enabled on phones ?
- Add earthquake warnings to your emergency plan
- Spread the word! ?
The following can be copy/pasted into an email to help inform others about Earthquake Warning California.
Are you prepared for an earthquake?
Earthquakes can happen anywhere at any time. To help keep individuals and families safe in an earthquake, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) recently launched a public education campaign to help increase awareness of Earthquake Warning California. This education effort includes outreach to the general public to help educate them about technology that can help them stay safe and mitigate risk in an earthquake.
Earthquake Warning California’s “Don’t Get Caught Off Guard” campaign is a statewide education effort to help the public learn about earthquake alert tools and resources. Cal OES, in collaboration with the California Integrated Seismic Network Partners from United States Geological Survey (USGS), University of California – Berkeley (UCB), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and California Geological Survey (CGS) launched the nation’s first State Earthquake Early Warning System in October of 2019. The system uses ground motion sensors and sensors in smartphones to detect an earthquake before humans can feel it and issues a ShakeAlert® Message in real time so they can take cover before shaking happens. An earthquake warning can provide additional life-saving seconds for people to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
Earthquake Warning California resources include:
- Information about constructing an emergency plan
- How to protect yourself and your family before, during and after an earthquake
- Android earthquake alerts developed in partnership with Cal OES and USGS
- The MyShake App — a smartphone app developed in partnership with Cal OES and UC Berkeley that can provide users with a few seconds of notification that shaking is about to occur
- Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) — free notifications delivered to cell phones in emergency situations
- Information for first responders to plan for life-saving actions in the event of an alert, such as safely slowing mass transit systems, powering down equipment, or bringing elevators to an emergency stop
- Links to the California Integrated Seismic Network Partners for additional technical and system information
We encourage all public safety and first responder employees to check out resources on earthquake.ca.gov to help keep themselves and their families safe. We will be incorporating earthquake warnings into our earthquake emergency planning efforts, including disaster drills and community presentations. We encourage employees to consider what steps can be taken quickly to mitigate disasters and help us deploy assistance quickly when shaking stops. This includes actions such as opening bay doors for fire departments, pulling over and setting the parking brake for police cars, or calling out for others nearby to take cover.
You can also sign up to receive monthly e-newsletters with the latest news and information about earthquake warnings, new materials, virtual presentations, social media posts and other resources on Cal OES’ website. For more information visit earthquake.ca.gov or email earthquakeinfo@caloes.ca.gov.