Please stay safe, everyone who maybe affected. Hope no more earthquakes.
3 Likes
Just heard that the warning has been lifted. Phew.
2 Likes
How/Why did it get lifted so fast??
After the devastating 2004 tsunami, the warring systems have been substantially beefed up worldwide. Better tech and better communications.
Possible that this earthquake was a horizontal earthquake, unlike the 2004 one where there was a vertical earth movement that generated the deadly wave.
2 Likes
Thank goodness for the science.
1 Like
S said all the iPhones in his office space sounded with the alarm. People checked, shrugged their shoulders and continued with their day.
His take is that they need to be more judicious in sounding these alerts - people are starting to completely ignore them.
Yeah, that’s how some people around here treat tornado warnings. Until the tornado they were warned could pop up actually does.
1 Like
Was he in the mandatory evacuation zone at the coastline, or just the larger warning zone over the entire area? I certainly hope they aren’t ignoring mandatory evacuation alerts.
We were lucky that this earthquake didn’t cause a tsunami… but it was certainly possible that it could have, and tsunamis can be very destructive.
2 Likes
Better safe than sorry. There were no warnings systems in 2004. 
This NG documentary is one of the saddest I’ve ever watched.
3 Likes
Palo Alto, so I assume warning area. In any case sounds like alerts are too many too often. When the phones go off it all sounds the same, no?
When is the last time they remember getting an alert like this? I do not remember any previous time when I was alerted to a 6.0+ earthquake and tsunami warning in my area.
In this case, the first warning I received was a Shake Alert on my phone that there was a 6.0+ earthquake approximately 200 miles away. Not long after I received this alert, I felt mild shaking. The next alert I received was that there was a tsunami warning affecting the entire Bay Area; I think this was broadcast through the phone system as a whole. Then at 11:25 AM, I received the AC Alert message (AC Alert = Alameda County) with specific mandatory evacuation orders for the waterfront areas near me. At 12:05 PM, I received the AC Alert message that the tsunami warning and evacuation orders were canceled.
All of these alerts were appropriate, as far as I know. For an earthquake and potential tsunami, it is important to get an alert out right away, because these events can unfold quickly. The evacuation orders were then canceled as soon as they had the information that a tsunami had not developed.
4 Likes
Perhaps they can find a way to differentiate severity levels. After all, this is the 21st century.
I hope the land-based tsunami sirens have been activated in the evacuation zones. That is a very distinct sound. The magnitude of the earthquake and the proximity to the shoreline is what most likely triggered the initial alerts beyond a small area. Can’t waste time in such situations. Palo Alto is far enough to not be affected, but close enough for people to plan to travel to or have relatives or homes in the areas that might be. The deadly 2004 tsunami did not just wipe out beaches of Indonesia as what mostly the news have been showing. It spread all over!
1 Like
I’m not sure what you mean. The warnings I received were fairly specific about the earthquake magnitude, distance, and tsunami risk. Of course the information was incomplete at that time, but tsunamis move fast, so they have to give warnings before they know for sure that a tsunami has developed. The mandatory evacuation area was very specific including a map.
2 Likes
The warming my husband received in South SF looked like this:
The business park he is visiting is located on the low lands close to several marinas. There could have been some flooding potentially.
2 Likes
I’m just thinking that there should be different levels of the alerts and their associated tones. When there is only one alert tone level, they are losing opportunities to provide better info.
1 Like
Sure! But that would require public $$ investment. Given the infrequency of these alerts, it may not be the first funding priority.
Great point. It would cost the feds hundreds of millions of dollars no doubt,
Actually, it would be a contractor that would charge an outrageous amount. But let’s not digress.
1 Like
For folks who live in northern CA, the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group says to “expect more aftershocks - the USGS estimates a 53% chance of an earthquake in the M5 ranges and a 7% likelihood of a M6.” Lots of good information about earthquake and tsunami preparedness on their web site: https://rctwg.humboldt.edu
1 Like