ShakeAlert, CA's 1st Earthquake Warning System, To Be Tested In Oakland
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) — The U.S. Geological Survey and California's Office of Emergency Management are testing out a new tool that could alert people via cell phone of an impending earthquake in the critical seconds before the shaking begins.
The early warning system is called Shake Alert. On March 27, a first-of-its-kind test will try to determine how fast and effective the warning would be. The alert will sound between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm to cell phones in a 60-block section of downtown Oakland west of Lake Merritt.