ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning expands to the West Coast

(KION) After almost two decades, the ShakeAlert earthquake warning system is now available to 50 million residents in California, Oregon, and Washington. The reason for this is because these regions of the nation are the most earthquake-prone region in the nation.

The ShakeAlert will alert the public through mobile devices by using alerts that are transmitted instantaneously. The new system relies heavily on sensor data from the USGS Advanced National Seismic System. All of this is in hopes to help save lives and reduce injuries by helping people drop, cover, and hold.

Associate Director for Natural Hazards Exercising the Delegated Authority of the USGS Director says, "USGS science is the backbone of hazard assessment, notification, and response capabilities for communities nationwide so they can plan for, and bounce back from, natural disasters."

The new technology is expected to improve over time with the addition of more seismometers to the network and improving messaging speeds.