The 10 year anniversary of the terrifying Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that wrecked Japan passed by last month. The fallout of similar earthquakes could be lessened with a technology that can better detect and warn of these devastating forces of nature. One such alert system is ShakeAlert. 

ShakeAlert, initially developed for the seismic-prone U.S. West Coast, has finally made its way to Oregon and is now accessible to the public. Its state-wide rollout is led by University of Oregon geophysicist Doug Toomey. His team uses the data from over 400 different seismic detectors in the Pacific Northwest and more than a thousand dotting the western contiguous U.S. to pick up early warning signals of an earthquake's imminent approach. A few precious seconds before an earthquake arrives, local residents will receive an emergency notification on their smart phones and other wireless devices. Giving residents more time to prepare for an earthquake and even a tsunami will save lives, similar to the impact that tornado warnings have had in preventing deaths from wind storms. ShakeAlert is now looking to add new seismic stations to its existing network of earthquake sentinels, and expanding its reach to other organizations and institutions beyond individual members of the public. 

Editor's note: The original title incorrectly stated that the ShakeAlert could allow residents to evacuate. The original note mis-implied that ShakeAlert is a new technology developed around 2021. It also incorrectly stated that ShakeAlert was designed by UO researchers; it has been edited to reflect that the rollout in Oregon was instead led by this institution. The original note also incorrectly called ShakeAlert an app. The note also wrongly suggested that ShakeAlert can be extended to other seismically-active countries, which isn't ShakeAlert's goal. The original note also ignored the other warning systems already present in those countries. Hence, the editorial team has rewritten the final sentence on ShakeAlert's in-the-works. As of seven months after the initial publication date, ShakeAlert's service is now available to the public on all the states along the West Coast.