Earthquake Early Warning System To Send Test Alert Thursday

WASHINGTON — On Thursday morning hundreds, maybe thousands of Washingtonians will hear their phones loudly buzz and display a large alert message. But they shouldn't worry — because it's only a test.

The Washington State Department of Emergency Management is preparing to launch a new earthquake early warning alert system later this spring. Ideally, the system will send out earthquake warnings in advance of quakes, buying Washingtonians precious seconds to escape to safety.

That's where this test alert comes in: before the system is fully up and running, Emergency Management want to make sure the alerts go out smoothly. So, a test alert will be sent out at 11 a.m. Thursday to residents of King, Pierce, and Thurston counties who have capable smartphones and who have opted in to receive Wireless Emergency Alert test messages.

They will receive an alert to their phones which reads, in English and Spanish:

TEST of the Earthquake Alert System. (https://mil.wa.gov/alerts) TEST -USGS ShakeAlertPRUEBA del sistema de alerta de terremotos. (https://mil.wa.gov/alerts) -USGS ShakeAlert

Users will be able to click the embedded link to find more information. Organizers say the message should be similar to an AMBER alert. It will not be sent out on television or over the radio.

Researchers and organizers are excited to have this technology up and running. The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology are even hosting a watch party to celebrate the test.

The ShakeAlert warning system has been in use in California since October 2019, and will be coming to Oregon in March. Washington will launch the program by the end of May, creating one contiguous system up the West Coast.

As the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explains, the system uses a network of sensors that detect quakes as they happen and quickly send out alerts to nearby communities, giving them time to find a safe spot or shelter-in-place before the tremors arrive.

"The rollout of public alerting for ShakeAlert in the Pacific Northwest is a major milestone in the evolution of this critical system and has the potential to provide users with life-saving warnings seconds before they experience damaging shaking in future earthquakes," said Gavin Hayes, USGS senior science advisor for earthquake and geologic hazards.

Anyone who wants to take part in next week's test can learn how to opt-in by visiting the Emergency Management Division's website.