[EAS] Earthquakes on EAS?

Thu Feb 24 13:06:14 CST 2011

Let me help with this one.   The EQW event code was proposed by
the Washington State SECC after a 6.8 quake here.   The wording
leaves a lot to be desired because it makes everyone think that
there is a method for predicting these things and the EAS would be
used to warn of a shake rattle and roll to come.

What this is really used for is dealing with the effects of a quake like 
this.
In retrospect it perhaps should have been EQR or Earthquake Results etc.

What you have after one of these is a rather complete communications
meltdown.   Land line and Cellular phones become instantly useless,
power outages are often widespread and there is a citicial need to
get 'official ' info into the hands of the citizens.

Granted, CEM could be used as well.

Clay Freinwald
Washington State.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Kline" <dkline at tvmail.unomaha.edu>
To: "The EAS Forum - accurate & up-to-date EAS information" 
<eas at radiolists.net>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 6:30 AM
Subject: Re: [EAS] Earthquakes on EAS?

NWS has a list of EAS SAME event codes.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/eas_codes.shtml

They do list an earthquake warning event code, EQW.
There is no code for an earthquake watch, EQA?
But maybe if these early warning systems really work, it might make
sense.
Maybe I'll program the EQW into my SAGE box.
I do carry an earthquake rider on my homeowner's insurance policy.
Heck it only cost about 18 bucks a year. (I live in Omaha Nebraska.)
But one little shake rattle or roll of the earth's crust would sure
mess up my foundation and that's not a cheap fix.
For that much, I'd buy insurance against an alien invasion if they
offered it.
We are pretty far from any intelligent civilizations in the universe.
The chances of an earthquake in Omaha are much greater than that of an
alien invasion.
Therefore that rider would probably cost even less.
But I digress.

Live long and prosper.
Dave

************************************************
Dave Kline   UNO-TV / KVNO
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6001 Dodge St. Omaha, NE  68182  CPACS 200
Voice 402-554-2516   Fax 402-554-2440
dkline at tvmail.unomaha.edu
************************************************
"Not everything that can be counted counts,
and not everything that counts can be counted".
- Albert Einstein
************************************************

On Feb 23, 2011, at 11:17 PM, Adrienne Abbott wrote:

> Questions how do you think we’re going to receive these messages?
> What does “QuakeGuard” envision as the distribution system for these
> alerts? Would they provide the input to the CAP server? Is it
> realistic to expect today’s EAS to push out these warnings in 15
> minutes? Can broadcasters do that? We do have an Event Code for
> earthquakes should it be a mandatory code? Should that decision be
> made at the state level or at the federal level? Will state plans
> have to be re-written again to accommodate the earthquake code?
> California, Alaska, Nevada and Hawaii are all aware of earthquake
> dangers but no state is immune is it more important to install these
> warning systems in states like New York and Missouri where quakes
> are rare or in the West where quakes are common?
>
> Adrienne
>
> <http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/23/quake-early-warning-reality-california/
> >http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/23/quake-early-warning-reality-california/
>
>
> Earthquake Early Warning System a Reality in California
>
> By Adam Housley
>
> Published February 23, 2011 | FoxNews.com
> What if you could be alerted before the only natural disaster that
> offers no warning actually hits? Even if the alert came just seconds
> sooner?
>
> In California's Coachella Valley around Palm Springs, a state-of-the-
> art, first-in-the-world earthquake early warning system in now
> installed and operational. Twelve locations are now in place with
> 120 sites planned, all meant to detect an earthquake and give people
> a chance to get under a table, or in the case of a fire station, get
> the engines outside of the building.
>
> Created by a Silicon Valley startup, QuakeGuard sensors are designed
> to detect the initial, or "P" energy waves given off by every quake,
> even though  it's only the later, or "S" waves that do all the
> damage. The time in-between the two waves varies depending on the
> proximity to the epicenter and as the first sensor closest to the
> quake goes off, it can offer advance notice  -- from a few seconds
> to a full minute-- to other locations farther away.
>
> As former seismic safety commissioner Dennis Mileti tells us, “This
> is the No. 1 line of defense to accomplish the most basic objective
> in responding to an earthquake ... duck, cover and hold on, and it
> can motivate people to do that before the ground starts shaking.
> Every other natural hazard has warnings issued for it, 
> <http://www.foxnews.com/topics/world/earthquakes.htm#r_src=ramp
> >earthquakes don’t. This is the way to provide some warning.”
>
> The system can also be set to automatically open fire station doors,
> and water and gas valves for municipalities could be shut off. Back-
> up generators for hospitals could be turned on and, most
> importantly, warn school kids to duck and take cover. During a tour
> of a Palm Springs Fire Station, Tom Kirk from the Coachella Valley
> Association of Governments, says, “For this fire station, doors roll
> up; for a school, an alarm might sound, teachers tell the kids to
> duck and cover; for a hospital, maybe backup generators go on.”
>
> If 15 or 20 seconds doesn't seem like much, consider this: During
> last April's huge Baja, Calif., quake, fire trucks in Calexico were
> trapped behind jammed fire station garage doors for almost 20
> minutes and had to cut their way through the doors before they could
> deploy and respond to people in trouble. Other stations had pieces
> fall from the ceiling and damage equipment. With QuakeGuard, this
> would not have happened because in as little as 15 seconds the doors
> could be opened and the engines driven outside.
>
> Of the 12 sets of sensors currently set in place throughout the
> Coachella Valley, all tied to fire stations, they will soon be
> networked to every school in the area. Down the road, local
> officials see it linked to hospitals, private businesses and even
> people's homes. Eventually, the designers would like to see it
> become like another utility, with alarms installed in every home
> willing to fork over a minimal monthly "subscription" fee. At this
> point, it costs between $1 million and $3 million to install such a
> network throughout a community, and there are four others in various
> stages: San Diego, the Bay Area, the Antelope Valley and Hawaii.
>
> A mobile system is also in development and would be essential for
> rescue crews that deploy to places like 
> <http://www.foxnews.com/topics/world/haiti.htm#r_src=ramp
> >Haiti or Chile when an aftershock hits. A few seconds could get
> rescuers out from under the rubble and thus out of harm's way. Also,
> if you think this a California centered story, think again. Major
> earthquakes have struck throughout the United States, and places
> like St. Louis and even New York City are in harm's way.
>
>
>
>
>
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