Tracker app logo

Download the Tracker app!

Download the Tracker app to stay connected with Roseburg Tracker.

GET
NEW

Earthquake Warning System Launches for the Pacific Northwest

The U.S. Geographical Survey launched an early alert system for earthquakes in Oregon on March 11. The system will send alerts directly to people on their cell phones to warn them a few extra seconds before they could feel anything - vital moments in an earthquake. The system, called ShakeAlert, includes over 1,000 sensors buried through the Pacific Northwest which detect tremors before they can be felt on the surface. The system is automatic and does not require any signup. California tested and launched the system in October and Washington will finish in May. The Pacific Northwest is due for what has been dubbed “The Big One,” an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7.1. According to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, there is a 37% chance of it happening at any point in the next 50 years and the impacts would be felt throughout the Pacific Northwest. ShakeAlert is not earthquake prediction, rather a ShakeAlert Message indicates that an earthquake has begun and shaking is imminent. Small earthquakes happen all the time along subduction zones - places where tectonic plates meet and push over and under each other. The ShakeAlert messages will alert people if there is a dangerous earthquake in the area. More information can be found on the State website, with flyers available in Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese. https://www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/Pages/orshakealert.aspx