Photo: Z22 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Since March 2021, Oregonians have been able to get earthquake warnings on their phones through ShakeAlert, the early warning system run by the U.S. Geological Survey with state and university partners. For people on the coast, it is useful to know what the warning is and what it is not.
How it works
Seismic stations across the West Coast detect the first, faster waves from an earthquake. Computers estimate the location and size within seconds and send an alert ahead of the stronger shaking that follows. Depending on how far you are from the epicenter, that might be a few seconds or a few tens of seconds. Close to the source, there may be no warning before shaking arrives.
How alerts reach you
In Oregon, alerts go out through the federal Wireless Emergency Alert system for larger quakes, and through Android phones’ built-in earthquake alerts. Some apps also deliver ShakeAlert messages. Make sure emergency alerts are switched on in your phone settings. Schools, hospitals and utilities can also connect equipment to the system, for example to open fire station doors or slow trains.
What to do
When you get an alert, drop, cover and hold on. A few seconds is enough to get under a table or away from windows. For people on the coast, the alert has a second meaning: if strong shaking follows, a local tsunami may arrive within minutes, and you should walk to high ground as soon as the shaking stops.
Building out the network
Oregon has added seismic stations in recent years to improve coverage, especially on the coast and in rural areas, which helps the system detect offshore Cascadia earthquakes quickly. For the bigger picture, see what scientists know about Cascadia and our tsunami preparation guide.
Marnie Holcomb is the editor and publisher of Oregon Coast Daily News and covers Lincoln County government and community life.
