A dispatcher handles emergency calls at the Willamette Valley Communications Center, the area’s 911 system. (City of Salem photo)
Next month, the U.S. Geological Survey will implement a notification system that’ll give Oregonians a heads up when the Big One happens.
Beginning March 11, ShakeAlert will be in place to give Oregonians an early warning on their mobile devices of impending earthquakes. The service will send earthquake alerts to their phones, similar to severe weather or AMBER Alert notifications.
ShakeAlert will send text reading, “Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold On. Protect Yourself. -USGS ShakeAlert.” The notification will go out seconds before the earthquake, which will hopefully be enough time for people to hide under desks or stop cars from entering tunnels.
ShakeAlert uses a network of sensors to detect earthquakes just as they are beginning. Data from sensors are used by the app to calculate the earthquake’s estimated magnitude and intensity. The system was tested in California in 2019 before being implemented in Oregon and Washington.
The message is also available in Spanish for phones set up to receive messages in that language. ShakeAlert will use the Wireless Emergency Alert system already installed on most phones. Oregonians can also download the QuakeAlertUSA app to make sure they don’t miss the notification.
-Jake Thomas
