California earthquake puts early warning system to the test

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As sensors picked up the first signs of a strong earthquake jolting the Northern California coast, an alert was blasted to 3 million smartphone users telling them to “drop, cover, hold on.” It was hailed as the biggest test yet of the warning system since its public launch.

But the people most rattled by the magnitude 6.4 earthquake early Tuesday said the alert didn't give them enough time to take cover as the temblor shook homes off foundations, knocked out power and water to thousands, and injured more than a dozen people.

Jimmy Eller, who was sitting in his parked Chevy Malibu while working as a security guard, said he was already in the throes of the violent quake when he noticed his phone had lit up with the warning. He was more focused on what was going on outside as street lamps began to sway.

“They were all wobbling, flashing on and off,” Eller said. “I could see breakers and wires in the distance flashing like lightning might look like. It was terrifying. You could see everything moving and shaking.”

The quake was centered near the small town of Ferndale, about 210 miles (345 kilometers) northwest of San Francisco. It was the biggest one the ShakeAlert early warning system has alerted for, since launching publicly in California three years ago.

“It's really a groundbreaking, first-in-the-nation tool that hopefully saves lives,” said Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

ShakeAlert was developed by university researchers and is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. It's one of a handful of earthquake warning systems created in different parts of the world over the past few decades, including Japan and Mexico. But the new technology, which operates in California, Oregon and...