THE $1.1 trillion spending bill approved by Congress included an allocation of $5 million toward an earthquake warning system in California that would begin next year.

Scientists have attempted to make this system more widely available, but funding remained a long-time obstacle. The system would not predict earthquakes, but would provide people with up to a minute’s alert before trembling hits their area.

A joint statement released on Monday, Dec. 15 by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who represents the state’s 28th district, announced the new funds. Feinstein said the money California received was “a down payment” and that “more funding is necessary to complete the system.”

For the first five years of operation, a comprehensive warning system in California would cost an estimated $80 million.

“We must get it done before the next major earthquake strikes,” Feinstein said.

Many sensors are already installed in the ground in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but so far only a handful of establishments, including some government agencies and private firms, have been alerted by the current system in place.

The system also sent out warnings eight seconds before shaking started in the 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Napa earlier this year.

However, the warning system did not work as well when it came to recent tremors that occurred in the Mammoth Lakes region.

Seismic early-alert systems function by detecting the primary shock waves, also known as P-waves. The system then determines the strength of the waves and releases warnings before the slower S-waves – which cause the ground to shake – spread out.

Other planned developments for the system include connecting it to public announcement systems at certain schools to alert teachers and students, and eventually providing ample warning times to allow for surgeries to stop at hospitals and for businesses to cease the operation of heavy equipment.

California falls behind other earthquake-prone countries, including Mexico, Japan, Turkey and Taiwan, in possessing an early warning system.

“I only hope we can get this done before we have a major earthquake,” Schiff said. “We’ve been derelict, even though the technology is being pioneered here. It’s something we really need to put into effect.”

(With reports from Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and San Jose Mercury News)

(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend December 20-23, 2014 Sec. A pg.8)