Saturday’s earthquake was the first to launch the new ShakeAlert system in Oregon – but the earthquake was too small to generate warnings

A minor earthquake near Mount Hood Saturday night triggered the new ShakeAlert system in Oregon for the first time. ShakeAlert is designed to give residents a temporary warning before the shock wave from an earthquake strikes them.

Saturday’s quake, with a magnitude of 3.9, was too small to trigger regional emergency alert systems broadcast on television, radio and smartphones. So people did not receive warnings on their phones.

But the people who deployed the system were relieved that ShakeAlert’s technology worked as designed on Saturday.

“This is the first time we’ve actually gone through this process in Oregon for a warning,” said US Geological Survey scientist Robert de Groot. In the event of a larger earthquake, he said, the alerts could have given people enough warnings to sit under a table or take other precautionary measures.

ShakeAlert operates in Oregon, California and Washington. California was first in 2019; The Oregon system went live in March, and the Washington system has been active since May.

This technology uses a network of regional sensors to detect an earthquake, then quickly calculate the magnitude and location of the earthquake, and where the vibration is likely to be generated. ShakeAlert instantly sends alerts to phones and other public safety networks within those areas.

Saturday’s earthquake struck about four miles northeast of government camp at 8:50 p.m. Staff at Charlie’s Mountain View restaurant reported feeling a slight tremor, but didn’t immediately realize it was an earthquake. Although the earthquake was small, de Groot said people reported feeling it as far away as Beaverton.

Initial calculations indicated that Saturday’s quake was 4.0, large enough to trigger emergency alerts at some nearby automated safety systems. These automated systems may slow trains down or shut off gas valves. Larger earthquakes trigger broad alerts.

A 5.0 earthquake, 30 times more powerful than Saturday’s, would produce alerts via the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system. WEA warnings reach every smartphone in areas close enough to feel significant impacts, unless the phone owner disables public safety emergency notifications.

“If it’s 5 degrees, that’s when the alerts will be delivered,” de Groot said. “And it will be delivered to people who may feel a lower level of vibration, which is considered a mild level of vibration.”

It can reach a wide geographical range.

Because earthquake vibrations move more slowly through the ground than radio signals through wireless networks, it is possible to provide a warning ranging from a few seconds to very important advance notice.

For example, warnings for Saturday’s earthquake gave Hood River 1.9 seconds of warning, according to ShakeAlert metrics. However, de Groot cautioned that this might overstate the amount of warning people actually received – and said it takes some time for ShakeAlert to process the information before alerts are sent.

Far away, warnings arrived long before any shaking occurred. In Portland, 49 miles from the epicenter on Saturday, the alert provided 11.9 seconds of warning. In Eugene, 112 miles away, ShakeAlert gave 40.5 seconds of warning.

Saturday’s earthquake wasn’t big enough to trigger smartphone notifications. People with smartphone apps that make use of the ShakeAlert network can customize their notifications to receive alerts at modest thresholds, for earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater.

In Oregon, de Groot said there are two such apps available – MyShake and QuakeAlertUSA. Additionally, Google’s Android smartphones have ShakeAlert notifications built in. (Again, although you don’t need these apps for notifications about major earthquakes – the WEA system should automatically notify smartphone owners.)

The apps will provide additional information about the earthquake’s size, focus and intensity – but de Groot cautions that you should take precautionary measures before studying the data more closely.

“You can look at your phone under the table,” he said, “but get down under the table.”

Correction: Saturday’s earthquake wasn’t big enough to trigger any smartphone notifications. This article originally indicated that some applications could be customized to generate warnings of small earthquakes of this size.

– Mike Rogway | [email protected] | Twitter: @rogoway |

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