Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Increasing flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Click for details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

73°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

73°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

New app to provide Los Angeles residents crucial early earthquake warnings

By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Jan 4, 2019 2:42 PM EDT | Updated Jul 1, 2019 5:02 PM EDT

Copied

The shaking woke Thomas Heaton on a quiet winter morning in Pasadena, California. The streets were empty, with sunrise hours away. As Heaton lay in bed next to his wife, waves vibrated through their house. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Twenty. As a seismologist, Heaton had spent his career studying seismic waves like these. By feel and duration, he guessed this quake was big, maybe a magnitude 6.5, and close, under west Los Angeles. Plenty dangerous. An aftershock rolled through.

Before the ground under their feet shakes, Los Angeles residents will get a vibration on their phones alerting them of an earthquake in their area. The newly developed app, called ShakeAlertLA, can give residents a vitally important few seconds of notice to prepare for earthquakes and aftershocks registering over 5.0 magnitude.

Released to the public this past weekend, the app works on Android and Apple smartphones. ShakeAlertLA alerts residents by sending alert sounds and notices to phones with a message about the severity of the ensuing shaking and a call to action to find cover.

"ShakeAlertLA alerts you that an earthquake has been detected and that you may soon feel shaking," the app says in its App Store description. "You can also use this app to prepare for an earthquake, get details on recent earthquakes, and find help after an earthquake. This app is brought to you by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City of Los Angeles, and built on the ShakeAlert system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey."

RELATED:

6 essential apps to have on your phone for when natural disasters strike
How are US bridges built to withstand powerful winds, hurricanes and earthquakes?
How powerful earthquakes can trigger deadly, destructive tsunamis
Can ants, squirrels and other animals sense when an earthquake is coming?
Can a cruise ship feel the impacts of tsunamis, earthquakes?
Why it’s critical to have basic first aid training in the event of a natural disaster

The app is also available in Spanish and uses hundreds of seismometers along fault lines throughout the region to detect shaking. The focus on earthquake preparation has made numerous strides under Garcetti's watch since he took office in 2013.

"Angelenos know the next big earthquake is not a question of 'if' but 'when'," Garcetti said in October. "From retrofitting our most vulnerable buildings to delivering earthquake early warnings to Angelenos, we are committed to making Los Angeles an epicenter of seismic resilience and safety."

Earthquakes are a matter of when — not if. We're officially launching #ShakeAlertLA tomorrow, and today you can become one of the first to use our early warning technology.

Download the app here → https://t.co/ePpzodn53p pic.twitter.com/XMc1aqUP90

— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) January 2, 2019

While the app is expected to improve with time and updates, residents and public services throughout the city are already excited to have a new layer of preparation. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has already tested and implemented the new technology.

After any detected earthquake, BART can halt trains for a short period of time or slow the trains down to 27 miles per hour until cleared. Robert Raburn, president of the BART board of directors, said that system was first used in 2014 after an earthquake in Napa. The alert system helps bring trains to a complete stop before the shaking ever begins, which will prevent any train from toppling off the track.

LA earthquake early warning

FILE - This Jan. 28, 2013 file photo, seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones, describes how an early warning system would provide advance warning of an earthquake, at a news conference at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

The development of the app has been in the works for six years. But after receiving the necessary funding, the Bay Area can now rely on early warnings from what is considered the most sophisticated earthquake alert system in the world.

The release of the app also seems to have galvanized other states to develop similar warning measures.

Kudos to @LACity on the new #ShakeAlertLA app.

We're working with our partners to develop a similar #earthquake early warning app for Washington. Until then, we've mapped your neighborhood's earthquake hazard so you can prepare for the next big quake https://t.co/umb39xMh7C https://t.co/hqj9hipTa5

— Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources (@waDNR) January 2, 2019

On Thursday, Garcetti announced the release of the app at the LA City Hall, where he thanked the app developers and hailed Los Angeles as the "epicenter of preparedness."

"It will never be perfect," he said at the press conference. "But this will give you a notification for the majority of earthquakes hitting the Southland."

Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

Jul. 12, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical trouble in the Atlantic may brew into next week

Jul. 12, 2025
Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

Jul. 12, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms fuel increasing flash flooding threat in Texas

10 hours ago

Weather News

Engine fuel supply cut just before Air India jet crash, report says

15 hours ago

Weather News

Texas Hill Country: Before, during and after the flood

16 hours ago

Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

13 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

10 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

1 day ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

1 day ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

1 day ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

1 day ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News New app to provide Los Angeles residents crucial early earthquake warnings
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...