ShakeAlert is a brand new public
safety system essentially that provides a little bit of earthquake early warning.
So when an earthquake has begun, the ShakeAlert system can detect it
so quickly that we can actually get a warning to most people before
the shaking even gets to them from where the earthquake started.
Yeah, we literally have hundreds of sensors around the state of Washington.
There are a bunch right here in Seattle.
In fact, there's one in Seattle Center right next to the Space Needle.
We have them sprinkled all over our area, usually just a few miles apart,
so that we can really detect any earthquake on multiple stations
as soon as it begins.
In order to receive ShakeAlert
alerts on your phone, you don't have to download an app at all, actually.
They're delivered in two mechanisms right now.
One is via an alert system that's like amber alerts.
They just happen on your phone.
The second is that for the Android phone systems,
there's actually it's built into the operating system of the phones.
Both of those are active unless you have dis activated them on your phone.
So if ShakeAlert detects an earthquake, your phone will buzz and light up
just like with an amber alert or something like that.
You open it up, then you will likely to see on your screen
would say earthquake detected, drop cover and hold on.
That means, shaking is expected maybe in a few seconds or 30 seconds or more.
So people might think,
you know, just a few seconds of advance warning doesn't do very much for them,
but it gives you that chance to stop and mentally prepare: "Oh,
what am I supposed to do in an earthquake?"
Rather than just freeze up when you feel it.
So drop, cover and hold on.
Get under something sturdy that might prevent things from falling on you.
For all of us, you know, earthquakes may well happen.
We live in earthquake country
and the trick is to be prepared so that we get through them okay.