United States: California Governor seeks funding for quake warning system

By Rong-Gong Lin II

Even though California is in earthquake country, it has fallen far behind other areas including Japan, Mexico and Taiwan in developing an earthquake warning system. The network for California and the rest of the West Coast has been repeatedly delayed because of a lack of funding.

A limited rollout of an [early warning] system in two years would mean that places such as classrooms, offices, shopping malls, amusement parks and police and fire stations could have ready access to alerts that would give seconds, and perhaps more than a minute, of warning before strong shaking comes in a big earthquake.