New earthquake warning comes to Washington May 4

Starting May 4, Washington residents will be able to receive early warnings of incoming earthquakes on their mobile phones, thanks to the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system.

The system, which is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in tandem with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, is not “earthquake prediction,” but can provide crucial information about earthquakes that have already begun.

Washington now becomes the final West Coast state to implement the ShakeAlert system. The early detection technology debuted in California in October 2019, and in Oregon in March.

“We all know an earthquake could strike at any time,” governor Jay Inslee said in a statement. “An earthquake early warning system could provide the critical time needed for Washingtonians to drop, cover and hold on. It has the potential to save lives and reduce damage to critical infrastructure.”

When an earthquake occurs, different types of waves are sent out by the rupturing fault, the quickest being the “P-wave.” Sensors placed around the state, positioned 6-12 miles apart, detect the fast-traveling P-waves and transmit that data to a ShakeAlert processing center. The data is processed so that the location of the fault, size of the earthquake and estimated shaking can be quickly determined.

If the earthquake is big enough to warrant a warning, then USGS sends out a ShakeAlert message. The message is then relayed to services that alert the public to the incoming earthquake.

ShakeAlert in Washington will be able to send out alerts through multiple avenues to notify as many residents as possible. Anyone in Washington will be able to receive a message directly to their cell phones through the ShakeAlert app, through a wireless emergency alert similar to Amber Alerts, or through other means.

“The system also has the potential to automatically close water valves to protect water supplies, lift fire station doors so first responders can get vehicles and equipment out, slow down trains so they don’t derail and even warn hospitals to halt surgeries, among many other capabilities,” the press release stated.

Washington lies in the middle of the Cascadia subduction zone, a tectonic plate boundary that stretches from Northern California to Vancouver Island. Washington only has about 65 percent of the earthquake sensor network complete, according to the press release, so not all residents would receive a notification in the event of an earthquake.

“With the current ShakeAlert system,” the press release reads, “in an M9 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, alerts will be sent but users farthest away from the epicenter may not receive an alert.”

Inslee said that while having infrastructure in place to warn citizens of incoming tremors is crucial, Washingtonians still need to be prepared for disasters. During the event of an earthquake, “drop, cover and hold on” is recommended to stay safe.

“Nothing can replace families having an emergency plan in place and being at least two weeks ready,” Inslee said.

ShakeAlert will host a webinar on Thursday, April 29 to inform the public on how to use the new system. No registration is needed for the webinar that will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Microsoft Teams. There will be a Q&A at the end and captions are available in seven languages. To attend the webinar, visit bit.ly/WAShakeAlert.