California's Early Earthquake Warning System Needs More Money
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- There is a new push to finish an early earthquake warning system in California that proponents say could provide crucial moments of notice before shaking begins.
"It's almost like lightning and thunder. You see the lightning before you hear the thunder. And it turns out that earthquakes conveniently provide a very small wave that travels faster than the high amplitude wave that produces the strong shaking," USGS Research Geophysicist Sarah Minson said.
But, California's early warning system has languished from a lack of funds.
Currently, California has about 400 earthquake sensors, but would need roughly 700 more for the system to cover the entire state and work reliably.
The problem is when lawmakers greenlit the project, they didn't provide it any money, hoping the feds or the business community would chip in.
"Look at the damage that we could prevent. Look at the lives we could save. Look at the billions of dollars in damage we could save," State Senator Jerry Hill said.
Hill is introducing legislation that would clear the way for the state to pay the roughly $21 million needed to install new earthquake sensors.
Proponents say the early warning system could provide the public, emergency responders and transportation systems with enough time to make potentially life-saving decisions before an earthquake struck.
"Even a few seconds of warning is enough for a computer to automatically open the fire house doors so firefighters can get their trucks out to rescue people. It's enough time to slow down a BART train," Minson said.
Senator Hill says investing in the program is self-preservation.
"We have a vibrant economy. We want to preserve that. We know that next big earthquake is coming," Hill said.
