Shake Alert

Abstract The ShakeAlert system was established in compliance with the following authorities • 42 USC 68 Disaster Relief Act §5132. Disaster warnings • 42 USC 7701 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 2004.§7701. The collection of information is necessary as its findings has the potential to save lives Readiness of Federal agencies to issue warnings to State and local officials. The President shall insure that all appropriate Federal agencies are prepared to issue warnings of disasters to State and local officials. As the earthquake detection improves, the messages to populations can save lives by providing seconds of warning that strong shaking from an earthquake is coming. These seconds of extra warning can help people take protective actions, like Drop, Cover, and Hold On (DCHO) to reduce their risk of personal injury. Because seconds matter with ShakeAlert, we need to understand more about how the various parts of the alerting system work and what technical latencies or lag times exist. Without these studies, we would not understand how much time it will take for a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) to arrive on the devices of people. This critical information allows to better understand the channels that will be using ShakeAlerts, to determine how long it will take for people to receive the messages, so we can assist in providing information on the best protective actions in their circumstance.

The latest form for Shake Alert expires 2029-03-31 and can be found here.