A magnitude 4.7 earthquake centered in Malibu, Calif., shook the Los Angeles area Thursday morning, according to US Geological Survey.
An aftershock of magnitude 2.8 was recorded in Malibu two minutes after the first quake. A magnitude 3.4 tremor was also recorded 12 minutes after the first.
California’s first-in-the-nation earthquake early warning system “provided advance notice to millions of Californians,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a statement.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) estimated that millions of people received wireless emergency alerts because of the public-private partnership between the state and Google, which has integrated the alerting software into Android cell phone operating systems.
Phones in the affected areas received notifications from the state’s MyShake app, which sent 425,217 alerts. After the earthquake, more than 20,000 new downloads of the app were made in just three hours.
In addition to the emergency alerts sent, California is also using the technology to automate protective measures such as opening firehouse doors, recalling elevators, shutting off water and gas valves and closing gates on bridges and notifying personnel in school and medical settings, Cal OES said in a statement.
This aerial photo shows the Malibu Pier in Malibu, California, on August 31, 2023.
Jae C. Hong/AP, FIL
“Even as the state grapples with wildfires, we must always be prepared for other potential disasters. Thanks to our Earthquake Early Warning system, millions of people in Southern California received alerts on their cell phones when the shaking began,” Newsom said in a statement.
The California Earthquake Early Warning System merges a smartphone application with traditional alerting and warning delivery methods, known as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The earthquake system uses ground motion sensors from around the state to detect earthquakes before people can feel them, according to the governor’s office. Under the state’s leadership, “50% more sensors have been installed since the program was launched, making the system more accurate and able to deliver alerts faster.”
No significant injuries have been reported, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.