Take advantage of earthquake warning technology: Sign up for MyShake today
September 3, 2024 •
Did you know you can receive a few seconds of notice to protect yourself before an earthquake’s shaking reaches you?
Sign up for MyShake
Early earthquake warning technology is here, and you can carry it with you in your pocket. MyShake is a free smartphone app that provides iPhone and Android users with audio and visual warnings for magnitude 4.5 and higher earthquakes. Alerts are sent to anyone who will experience intensity 3 (light shaking). The MyShake app works along the entire U.S. West Coast.
The download links above include Spanish-language warnings. (If your phone language is set to Spanish, the app will appear in Spanish.) Learn more about the MyShake app.
How MyShake works
The system uses a network of ground-motion sensors spread across the state to detect seismic activity. When an earthquake occurs, the system estimates its size, location and impact. If a significant magnitude is detected, the app sends notifications to users, empowering them with critical seconds to seek cover.
The app uses your phone’s general location to determine which phones receive alerts, so it is important to enable location services when you set up the app.
MyShake is effective: More than 500,000 MyShake users received ShakeAlert messages before the two significant earthquakes in Southern California last month.
MyShake’s UC connections
The MyShake app was developed by UC Berkeley in partnership with United States Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeAlert and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Earthquake Warning California, which operates MyShake, uses the California Integrated Seismic Network — a partnership between Cal OES, USGS, UC Berkeley’s Seismology Lab, the California Institute of Technology and the California Geological Survey.
Amina Assefa, director of Systemwide Emergency Management and Business Continuity, is President Drake’s designee on the California Earthquake Early Warning Program Advisory Board that is administered by Cal OES.
“The MyShake app is an incredible tool enabling users to begin a “Drop, Cover and Hold On” response before they even feel shaking. Other applications of the earthquake early warning technology for use in hospitals and transportation systems are also inspiring and I look forward to them being widely implemented.”
Learn more about Earthquake Warning California, the nation’s first publicly available statewide advance-notice earthquake warning system.
Tags: earthquake, earthquake warning, MyShake
