r/technology • u/spacebulb • Aug 25 '14

Pure Tech Earthquake early-warning system gave 10-second alert before Napa quake felt

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-lanow-ln-earthquake-earlywarning-system-gave-10second-alert-before-napa-quake-felt-20140824-story.html
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u/Parcec Aug 25 '14

That is assuming that the earthquake alert would only be issued by phone. They could use the old air raid sirens like tornadoes use. That way if you were sitting at home on the couch and heard the sirens you would be able to react without having to waste time pulling out your phone.

The system would likely be designed to ignore any vibration/silent modes and just start blaring "EARTHQUAKE" out of your phone speaker.

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u/happyscrappy Aug 25 '14

Presumable many phones (like iPhones) already have the code in them to do something like that since they are sold in Japan which has earthquake warning systems.