In October of 2018 the West Coast ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning System became sufficiently functional and tested to begin Phase 1 of alerting in California, Oregon, and Washington. Several commercial and institutional users are alerting personnel and taking automated actions; an important step in a strategy of phased rollout leading to full public operation.
ShakeAlert partners are working with both public and private mass alert system operators including FEMA, cellular carriers, mass notification companies, and others to provide broader public alerting. The USGS and its partners are working on a comprehensive education and training program to so that the public knows respond to alerts when they are received.
ShakeAlert v2.0 includes two new messages.The new messages are xml-based and provide a Contour Message and a Map Grid Message. The Event (aka Core) Message will be unaffected.
In addition to these Phase 1 implementations, technical improvements in the system are also part of the story. The sensor network has reached target density in the Los Angeles, Bay Area, and Seattle metro regions and version 2.0 of the alert production system has been deployed. This updated version of the ShakeAlert System produces both point source and line source earthquake solutions, has added ground motion estimation products, and the number of false and missed events has been reduced. The version 2.0 system has also satisfied government cybersecurity requirements and includes improved operational procedures.
