USGS announces nearly $5 million grant to advance the “ShakeAlert” warning system toward production stage
Two WA universities—UW and CWU—among recipients to help develop life-saving technology
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) applauded an announcement from the U.S. Geological Survey that six universities, including two in Washington state, and one non-profit organization, have been awarded $4.9 million to advance production of an early earthquake warning system currently in development. Sen. Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has consistently advocated for investments to complete and operate an earthquake early warning system on the West Coast to help prepare for and mitigate the human and economic impacts of a major seismic event in the Pacific Northwest. The “ShakeAlert” system, in the works for more than a decade, is designed to detect the first tremors of a major earthquake and provide users with anywhere from seconds to minutes of warning before an earthquake hits, which would provide crucial time for safety precautions.
“In the event of ‘the big one’, this alert system could prevent massive economic losses and save countless lives, so the time to get the technology in place is now, not later,” Sen. Murray said. “As a voice for our state in Congress, I will do everything I can at the federal level to make sure disaster preparedness investments come through so our universities can carry out this critical mission.”
More on the USGS grant and the “ShakeAlert” system here.
The recipients are:
· University of Washington
· Central Washington University
· California Institute of Technology
· University of California, Berkeley
· University of Oregon
· University of Nevada, Reno
· UNAVCO, Inc.
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