Members of Congress are asking President Barack Obama for funds to build a prototype system currently used by Caltech (California Institute of Technology). Caltech claims that their system would allow people to reach safety in a matter of seconds. If the money was available, it could be easily expanded to include the West Coast. Scientists, politicians and the general public are unable to understand why the US Government has not spent a few millions dollars on a system that could potentially save lives and prevent billions in damage. Screenshot showing the user display of CISN ShakeAlert, an early warning system that was activated during the 2011 Channel Island earthquake. (Image: eew.caltech.edu) According to members of Congress, all it would take would be an investment of $16m (PS10.7m) annually. According to Californian seismologists, their state has ten months of pregnancy when it comes to the Big One. In partnership with US Geological Survey, a study was done this year that found a 7 percent chance of California experiencing a magnitude-8 earthquake within the next 30years. According to a 2008 research, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault would kill approximately 1 ,800 person and do $213 trillion in damages. Sky News interview: Thomas Heaton (Professor of Geophysics, and Professor in Civil Engineering), Director of Caltech’s Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory, stated that although the system is functioning, the funds to unleash it on Californians have not yet been approved. Although an early warning system can’t protect this infrastructure, it could warn motorists and prevent them from driving over the edge. Professor Heaton predicts that smartphones will soon have advanced warning systems. An early warning system would allow for the slowing down of trains and other vehicles. It would also make it possible to prevent sensitive surgeries from being performed. This would help millions to escape danger. Prof Heaton stated that we should be prepared in case of a major earthquake. He also said that it would be possible to slow down trains and other vehicles, stop sensitive operations, and save millions of lives. It is truly a mystery to me that I come from California, a tech center with Silicon Valley. In January , the Los Angeles region experienced a massive earthquake measuring 6.7. Approximately 5 people were killed and 5 suffered injuries. Property, possessions, and infrastructure damage was approximately $40 trillion (PS 27 Billion). Caltech Engineers, Scientists, USC/SCEC, USGS Pasadena and UC Berkeley are conducting earthquake early warning (EEW), research and development. This project began in 2007,. It includes the creation and deployment of the newly-deployed demonstration EEW (CISN ShakeAlert) system, which was specifically designed for California. ShakeAlert utilizes data from California Integrated Seismic Network, Caltech/UC Berkeley/USGS. This includes real-time waveform stream data streams from stations throughout California. Initial funding for the project came from the US Geological Survey, which is responsible for earthquake alerting in the United States. Three years of funding was provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in 2012.. The FAQ page addresses the question “What is earthquake early warning?” Caltech says: When an earthquake happens, seismic waves radiate out from the epicenter much like waves in a lake. These waves are what we experience as earthquake shaking, and can cause structural damage. Technology exists that detects moderate-large earthquakes quickly enough to send a warning to areas outside of the epicenter. This would save lives and allow people to be alerted from just a few seconds up to several minutes before the tsunami hits. Video: Earthquake early warning system
