Early earthquake warnings launched in Washington, supplementing the ShakeAlert system at the West Coast level

When the Big One hits, the first thing Washington residents might not notice is the ground shaking, but their phone does issue a warning. The United States Geological Survey, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network based at the University of Washington, and the Washington Department of Emergency Management on Tuesday 4 May will activate the system that sends early warnings about earthquakes throughout Washington state. This completes the launch of the three-state ShakeAlert system, an automated system that gives people who live in Washington, Oregon and California an advance warning of upcoming earthquakes.

For the first time, advance warning of an impending earthquake will be a reality in our region. Even just seconds, and even one minute of warning is enough to prepare yourself and go into hiding – measures that could prevent you from getting injured or even save your life, said Harold Tobin, professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Wisconsin and director of PNSN. , Which monitors earthquakes in Washington and Oregon.

The work of the PNSN seismic sensor

A team from the UW-based Pacific Northwest Seismic Network installed a new set of solar panels at the earthquake monitoring site in Enumclaw, Washington, on April 20, 2021. The seismometer, one of hundreds that provides data to ShakeAlert, is in the crater front. The trench brings cables to the newly installed solar panels, on the right, that power the system, and an aluminum box that contains electronics that digitize and transmit seismic data.

Solar Panel Kit

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network monitoring station upgraded in Enumclaw, Washington, on April 20, 2021. Newly installed solar panels provide power to the system that detects the first signs of an earthquake.

Enumclaw Seismic Station

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network monitoring station upgraded in Enumclaw, Washington, on April 20, 2021. Newly installed solar panels provide power to the system that detects the first signs of an earthquake.

Washington ShakeAlert stations

As of late April 2021, more than 230 stations have contributed to the ShakeAlert network in Washington state, with more stations running online each week.

Once the system goes into operation on May 4, the first signs of an earthquake above 4.5 or 5 degrees, when the vibration becomes noticeable indoors, it will trigger an alert and reminder to fall, cover and continue. Warning times range from a few seconds to tens of seconds depending on your distance from the epicenter. The launch will be silent – there will be no testing on May 4.

PNSN operates a growing network of about 230 seismic stations in Washington and about 155 stations in Oregon providing data to ShakeAlert. When four or more of these devices detect unusual vibration, that motion is analyzed by computers, some on the University of Washington campus, that quickly calculate the size and location of the event.

Alerts will be delivered via Wireless Emergency Alerts, the same system that offers AMBER alerts. Earthquake alerts are also included in Android.USGS / ShakeAlert

People connected to the wireless emergency alarm system (the same system that produces AMBER alerts), will now receive earthquake alerts for events of magnitude 5 or greater, using a similar interface. Alerts for events of magnitude 4.5 or higher will be integrated into Android devices, with screens also showing the approximate earthquake magnitude and location. When people receive an alert, they should use the brief warning to request immediate protection, by following these safety guidelines. No downloads required – learn how to get alerts.

ShakeAlert, similar to current early warning systems in Mexico and Japan, began sending alerts in California in 2019 and in Oregon in March 2021. With the addition of Washington State, the system will now issue warnings to millions of people at risk of the largest potential earthquake in the lower 48 states – The submersion zone ruptures offshore Cascadia, a 700-mile-long fault stretching from Cape Mendocino in California to the tip of Vancouver Island, Canada (discovered in part through UW research). The warnings will also warn of potentially devastating earthquakes that are likely to occur sooner, on one of twenty cracks in the Earth’s crust in the Puget Sound region alone, or a deeper slide over the underlying ocean plate. The system works by detecting the first signs of an earthquake before the arrival of Earth-vibrating waves that move slowly but more damagingly.

PNSN began testing the ShakeAlert system with select companies, facilities, and organizations in Washington and Oregon in 2015. Along with individual alerts on phones, the system will be available for organizations or companies to include in their contingency plans – for example, to shut down water valves or slow trains to prevent exit Off course, stopping surgeries, or temporarily turning off sensitive equipment before vibration begins.

Businesses in the pilot program have used these alerts to shut down water and natural gas valves, stop rotating equipment, and alert employees. We’ve also partnered with Stanwood Elementary School, which has linked the system to its PA system so students can conduct earthquake drills using ShakeAlert, ”said PNSN Communications Director Bill Steele, who coordinated regional test users.

Scientists at PNSN continue to improve the system. About 65% of the planned earthquake stations in the network are complete in Washington State. PNSN field teams will install more seismometers through late 2025 in places such as the Olympic Peninsula and eastern Washington.

“The network is successfully detecting earthquakes now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve them. We are continuing to install seismometers and improve algorithms to make alerts faster and more reliable, give people more warning time and reduce the chance of any missing events or false alarms,” ​​Tobin said. .

The initial development of an earthquake warning system by three universities in the West Coast, including the University of Wisconsin, began a decade ago with funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Building the system was funded by Congress, with major grants administered by the US Geological Survey in 2015 and 2019, and completed by federal and state agencies working with a consortium of four West Coast universities: UW; University of Oregon University of California, Berkeley; And California Institute of Technology.

The Washington system has also secured government funding in the 2020-2021 budget. Special support for the Washington System also came from the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust, Amazon, Puget Sound Energy, and individual donors.

For more information, contact Tobin at [email protected] or Steele at [email protected] and 206-601-5978 or PNSN ShakeAlert User Interaction Officer Gabriel Lotto at [email protected].

Also see a USGS press release and Washington Department of Emergency Management press release.

Tagged with: School of Ecology, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Seismology and Seismology, Harold Tobin, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, ShakeAlert

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