Some West Coast residents who received an earthquake warning test sent to their cellphones at 3:19 a.m. Thursday were jolted awake by the wrong time zone, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The loud alert was sent to people using the earthquake early warning app MyShake, said Robert Michael de Groot, a spokesman for ShakeAlert, the U.S. Geological Survey system that uses the app. he said.
De Groot did not know how many users received the alert, but said the app had been downloaded 1.4 million times and the alert may have reached more than 1 million people. He said the app is aimed at people in California, Oregon and Washington, but can also send alerts to other users.
MyShake was scheduled to send a test alert Thursday to users in California, Oregon and Washington about a hypothetical earthquake occurring in San Francisco at 10:19 a.m. Pacific time, according to its website. Instead, app users received an alert at 3:19 a.m. Pacific Time. This is the same as 10:19 a.m. Universal Time. Warning statement said the alert was sent at 10:19 a.m. (UTC)
some people person who received the alert According to a social media post, he was woken up by a recorded voice saying, “This is a test.”
MyShake was developed by the University of California, Berkeley.
Angie Lux, Earthquake Warning Project Scientist at the Berkeley Earthquake Institute, said the error did not affect MyShake’s real-time warning system and was an accidental reminder that earthquakes can occur at any time. Ta.
“We know you didn’t enjoy being woken up at 3 a.m., and we apologize for that,” Dr. Lux said.
Later Thursday, another test alert was sent out at 10:19 a.m., as planned.
This app utilizes ShakeAlert, a system managed by the U.S. Geological Survey that detects earthquakes, estimates which areas are likely to experience strong shaking, and helps minimize damage. Warn the public to.
ShakeAlert is used in California, Oregon, and Washington, the most populous states that can experience very strong ground shaking from earthquakes. The government can send his ShakeAlert information to TV, phone, and radio. Some privately owned apps, such as MyShake, partner with ShakeAlert to broadcast alerts.
These alerts give users seconds of warning to evacuate and give organizations additional time to take steps to protect people and critical equipment, such as slowing trains or playing announcements. is intended to give.
ShakeAlert alerts were first sent to cell phones in California in 2019 and in Oregon and Washington in 2021.
De Groot said ShakeAlert was in a “state of continuous improvement” and each event taught the U.S. Geological Survey something new about how to improve the early warning system.
“Certainly I think there was a lesson to be learned for the people who did this at 3:20 a.m.,” De Groot said.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, approximately 143 million people in the United States live in areas where earthquakes can cause damage.
The Great Shakeout, a nationwide earthquake drill, is held every Thursday to prepare for possible earthquakes. Families, schools, businesses and other organizations were encouraged to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake.
In Northern California, the ShakeAlert system was activated Wednesday morning after an earthquake struck Sacramento County, providing warnings and an opportunity to prepare for an actual earthquake. The United States Geological Survey first registered A warning was issued for an earthquake exceeding magnitude 5, but it was later lowered to magnitude 4.2.
Emergency management officials across the country are testing new technology to better warn people about potential disasters, but sometimes mistakes are made.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management apologized in April after it sent a screeching alert to cellphones across the state at 4:45 a.m. after testing its emergency alert system.
In January 2018, people in Hawaii received a false alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile, and it took about 38 minutes for the state to send out another alert saying the first alert was false. The Federal Communications Commission and Hawaii officials said the false alarm was sent by a worker who had been underperforming for years and believed the state faced a real threat.