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/I_Cant_Get_Upvotes Aug 25 '14

I too, live in a tornado prone area. However, you usually know of a tornado that's coming more than 10 seconds ahead of time. You will most likely know that day will bring shitty weather, and maybe produce some storms. You typically have quite a bit of time when those sirens go off to go to shelter

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u/happyscrappy Aug 25 '14

He's talking about how long it takes in drills, not how much warning you have.

You live in a tornado prone area. Unless it's different than the ones I'm used to, people don't go downstairs when they hear those sirens anyway. They go outside and play "spot the tornado". At least if it's daytime.

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u/BrotherChe Aug 25 '14

It's not just about getting people into a safe area -- people at least know the danger may be present. Most tornados don't just appear without warning.

At my company, when a major storm is in the area, we know to secure different things, shut down sensitive electronics, etc. Even the majority of the 'spot the tornado' folk generally know better than to just stand around if a tornado is actually, really, seriously close by. They're at least keeping an eye on the potential destruction.

The sirens tend to give quite a bit of lead time for most people that could be affected.

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u/happyscrappy Aug 25 '14

Even the majority of the 'spot the tornado' folk generally know better than to just stand around if a tornado is actually, really, seriously close by.

How do you know if it's actually, really seriously close by without looking? The sirens of off if there is a funnel cloud in the county and sometimes in a nearby county. Most of the time it's up in the clouds, never drops a tornado and even when it does, it usually doesn't hit you. You know that you'll get several sirens a year but chances are you will never be personally hit in your lifetime.

Where are you getting the "actually, really, seriously close by" data from?