First Statewide Earthquake Early Warning System Will Be Launch Thursday.

OAKLAND — On the 30th anniversary of the deadly Loma Prieta earthquake, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), UC Berkeley, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Senator Jerry Hill and others will announce the launch of the nation’s first statewide Earthquake Early Warning System. The California Earthquake Early Warning System will marry a new smartphone application with traditional alert and warning delivery methods such as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).

The warnings produced by the ShakeAlert system will be pushed through a smartphone app called MyShake and the same wireless notification system that issues Amber Alerts. 

The system uses ground motion sensors from across the state to detect earthquakes before humans can feel them and will notify Californians so that they can “Drop, cover and hold on” in advance of an earthquake.