Communications of the ACM
2 Quakes in 2 Days, No Warning from ShakeAlertLA. Now the App Is Getting Reworked
An earthquake app's failure to alert Los Angeles residents of tremors from two quakes in July has prompted an upgrade.
Credit: Irfan Khan/The Los Angeles Times
An early-warning earthquake app's failure to alert Los Angeles residents of tremors from two quakes in July prompted an upgrade so weaker tremors will set off warnings.
The U.S. Geological Survey's ShakeAlert network detected the quakes about 49 seconds before major tremors hit Los Angeles County on July 5, but the ShakeAlertLA app remained silent.
The app's lowered threshold means computers will immediately analyze any quake of magnitude 4.5 or higher to determine whether weak shaking is expected for the county.
The previous threshold analyzed quakes of magnitude 5 or greater, and would trigger an alert only if the system predicted light (or greater) shaking.
From The Los Angeles Times
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