The earthquake that hit the Napa Valley, on Sunday, August 24, has raised discussion on the possibility of creating an early warning system for future quakes.
The 6.0-magnitude earthquake was predicted by ShakeAlert at the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. The alert system sent a warning to those at the lab, users in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco of light shaking to accompany an estimated 5.7 quake.
Although ShakeAlert was 0.3 off on the magnitude of the quake and only gave a 10-second warning, proponents say that with sufficient funding, small success can be built upon. In an interview with KNTV, Lt. Governor Gavin Newson said that he felt funding for the ShakeAlert system should be a priority.
The director of the Seismological Laboratory at UC Berkeley, Richard Allen, said $38m would be needed to implement the system the length of the West Coast, with yearly operating costs at approximately $16m.
KNTV’s news story stated that the yearly earthquake damage in California on average costs about $4.4bn, according to estimates from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thus making cost of implementing the system less of a shock.
Each year, the state of California disperses information on what to do in preparation for a quake and precautions to take to remain safe afterward. Local brochure printers can help out in disseminating such information.
