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jmcstar t1_itxlrnx wrote

Strangest experience... Alert, 10 seconds pass, earthquake hits. Wtf. Any other future predictions magical device?

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DrCashew t1_itxn80f wrote

I mean you're laughing but we're talking about something that in the best has been impossible to predict, and we didn't think of it as a possibility. We're talking about subterranean crusts that affect this from further down then we can hope to reach currently, this tech is actually straight up amazing.

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yeahyeahdiablo t1_ity91t4 wrote

it’s not a prediction. the earthquake had already happened, it’s just that seismic monitoring stations picked the earthquake up and broadcast the warning as it was propagating. japan has had the technology for decades, as has mexico, it’s nothing new

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OCedHrt t1_ity8ttj wrote

The alert came a split second after for me.

And the amber alert was 15 min late.

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Willinton06 t1_itxf80l wrote

This shit was believed to be impossible back in the day

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reddit455 t1_itxh34n wrote

it's not "Next tuesday at noon" -

it's GTF OUT OF THE BASEMENT NOW.

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I have the app it didn't go off for me.. but the dogs didn't get excited either. felt it though.

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Earthquake Early Warning now available publicly in California, Oregon, and Washington
https://myshake.berkeley.edu/

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Nearly 100,000 Bay Area residents were alerted about earthquake seconds before they felt it

https://www.ktvu.com/news/nearly-100000-bay-area-residents-were-alerted-about-earthquake-seconds-before-they-felt-it

Ferguson said the alert gave people 2-18 seconds advanced notice before they felt any shaking. It was sent out just a fraction of a second after some of the state's about 800 sensors detected shaking deep below the ground.
If you have an Android phone, you should've automatically received the alert. But iPhone users need to download the MyShake app and set their location in order to get the alert.

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LancelotTheBrave t1_ity2mik wrote

Sucks to be those people who have to put their phones in lockers at work. Hope someone checked on them

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JustDelta767 t1_itzmm7n wrote

What app? The article seems to imply this is something built into some Android phones…

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Jizzapherina t1_iu1ewbn wrote

Thank you for the information. I have two other shake apps, but not this one (that seemed to actually work!).

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masamunecyrus t1_ity8j8u wrote

By whom? Japan has had earthquake early warning since 2006. Mexico City has had it since 1991.

These systems do not predict earthquakes. They process seismic data in realtime, and when they detect an earthquake send out an alert faster than seismic waves travel through the earth (~3.5 km/s vs. the speed of light, minus processing times).

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sumelar t1_iu1jtyd wrote

You think everyone had a smartphone in 1991?

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ShoulderGoesPop t1_ityatuv wrote

So they predict an earthquake will happen at a specific location before it happens because it already happened at another specific location.

So they predict earthquakes.

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masamunecyrus t1_ityckrj wrote

Uh, no?

An earthquake happens at a specific place. Seismic waves then radiate out predictably from the epicenter.

Think of it like throwing a rock into a lake. The "earthquake" occurs when the rock impacts the water. The waves then radiate out on every direction. If you have sensors out on the lake, you can predict when the waves will teach the shoreline.

You're not predicting when the rock impacts the water (the earthquake). You're predicting when the waves, which have already been generated and you've already observed, will travel from point A to point B.

Does this make better sense?

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My-Left-Plate t1_itydrgt wrote

I mean I was with you until the condescending on. OP is also right. The earthquake can be the seismic slip but it could also be where the shaking is happening g on the surface. And for most people, it’s the latter.

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masamunecyrus t1_itye3d7 wrote

>I mean I was with you until the condescending on.

I have no idea what you're referring to. What part of my response was condescending?

I have a PhD in seismology, and OP asserted false information. I am trying to teach why it is wrong in a way that makes sense to people unfamiliar with the field of seismology. What would you rather I say?

Conversely, I thought the OP's tone was very condescending. Specifically, this part.

> So they predict earthquakes.

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My-Left-Plate t1_ityf357 wrote

The part where you said ‘uh, no?’

Now you double down with your PhD and ‘false information’ and ‘trying to teach’. You may be trying but you are a bad teacher. Step one in teaching is compassion and connection and you are doing neither. You are condescending from authority and it shows.

Read what I said. For most people the word earthquake means the earth quaking where they are. Which means OP is dead right.

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masamunecyrus t1_itygcbo wrote

I give up. I don't know why I bother commenting on reddit posts, anymore, and your response is why. This is not the same website as it was long ago, and it just keeps getting worse every year. Perhaps I'm finally done after many years of saying I would be. 🤷

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My-Left-Plate t1_itzv0gj wrote

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

Maybe you should take a walk and figure out why you don’t have any friends. Hi t: it’s because you a smug know-it-all who isn’t very nice.

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AnimationOverlord t1_ityntdg wrote

You are suggesting a scenario where the earthquake begins right beneath you instead as the epicentre instead of further away, in which case radio waves can give early warnings?

He did mention that, and was right at that, but it’s not the focus here.

Edit: but whether it’s a possible scenario I don’t know

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My-Left-Plate t1_itzusix wrote

That is neither what I am suggesting or what others are suggesting g.

It’s real simple, maybe your PhD is getting in your way.

For most people, the word earthquake means the earth is shaking where we are. We aren’t dumb, we all understand that the actual seismic plate slip or whatever happened a thousand miles away or something g, maybe way deep in the earth. And we aren’t dumb, we all know that the wave travels through the mantle and the crust at different speeds to get to different places at different times.

What the OP said is entirely true. The earth quakes at one place, phones detect it, and they tell other phones that an earthquake is coming to their location in like 10 seconds.

OP is entirely correct. They are predicting earthquakes based on other earthquakes.

Your usuals of the word might be correct in the technical parlance, but it is wildly incorrect in the popular, common, context. We all get where earthquakes come from, but none of us is calling the event way down in the earth the earthquake.

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cesium-sandwich t1_ityggk9 wrote

Yup. Same with accurate weather prediction, electric helicopters, beating humans at chess, generating unique artwork, generating forgeries of people, automated language translation... and more.

The dominos keep falling faster and faster.

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rtphokie t1_itxk8t4 wrote

And then they spelled it “San Hose”, so mixed results.

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UloPe t1_ityjv65 wrote

Fun fact, „Hose“ means trousers in German.

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Zwets t1_itz9eb3 wrote

"Hosen" means trousers. A "Hose" would be a trouser, referring to a single pant-leg. As might be expected, needing to refer to 1 half bifurcated trousers doesn't come up in conversation often.

I think "puts on his pants 1 leg at a time, just like the rest of us" isn't used as a proverb in German. Though it could also be my German family members have never had cause to use their version of it.

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UloPe t1_iu08bbn wrote

That’s not correct. A „Hose“ is singular and means a complete garment. Hosen is plural and means more than one (except in Bavaria but that’s dialect and doesn’t count).

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Background-Mouse t1_itxrrh8 wrote

I got the alert in the middle of the earthquake. It wasn’t useful as a warning but the alarm did make me realize it was an earthquake and not the start of WW3 so that’s a relief.

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DimitriV t1_ityprj2 wrote

"The preceding program contained scenes of extreme violence and should not have been viewed by young children."

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lurgi t1_itxqf2n wrote

I got the alert a few seconds before the quake hit me. The future can be cool, sometimes.

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mmmchips t1_ity28q0 wrote

It was pretty strange. Got a message from the MyShake app saying to take cover due to a 4.8 from Santa Clara county. Gave me enough time to turn off my tv grab my cat. About 10 seconds warning. That could definitely save somebodies life if it were more serious. Very glad I downloaded the app a while back.

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jitterbug726 t1_itxniu0 wrote

I thought I was just feeling shit while hung over. Didn’t even realize it was a quake til today loo

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Edit_Spelling_ t1_ity1rdv wrote

This is cool but not new right? It Integrated into both Android and Apple phones in Japan. The alarm that goes off is more frightening than earthquakes often.

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rislim-remix t1_itydjy8 wrote

It's new that it exists in the US. The US solution, called ShakeAlert, is a ground-up clean sheet design for some reason. I'm not sure why the US Geological Survey didn't seem to coordinate with Japan at all when developing this... maybe there are differences in the seismic characteristics or something, or maybe it's just a classic example of "not invented here".

What's really cool is that Google seems to be augmenting this with data from actual android phones, using them as mini seismometers. If they can get that accurate enough to completely supplant the fixed seismometer systems in the US and Japan, that means that the entire world could potentially get earthquake alerts just by people having phones.

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littleMAS t1_itzsifa wrote

I remember the Loma Prieta quake in 1989. I was in Mountain View talking on the phone to someone in Santa Clara. He suddenly said, "Whoa, did you feel that?" After he said it, the room started shaking.

2

Jazzlike_Run_5466 t1_itxkldb wrote

Ive been in several massive earthquakes an early warning system would be a lifesaver for many. They say in the event of an earthquake get under a desk or doorway etc I tried to get under a doorway first but the door is flapping and you cant really stand up straight anyway to navigate to a better spot.

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Sparkykun t1_itxlneo wrote

Get under table only applies if you need to run downstairs at least four stories or use an elevator

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masamunecyrus t1_ity95q8 wrote

It really depends on context.

  • In a standard American wood-framed house? They're flexible and won't collapse. Get under a table.

  • In an unreinforced brick building? Get out now, and don't stop to think about it.

  • In a downtown area with lots of skyscrapers? They're probably engineered to survive an earthquake. Avoid being in the center of a large room (large spans of unsupported ceilings are liable to cave in), but don't go outside until the shaking stops or at least subsides. Panes of broken glass falling 20 stories onto your head when you're on the sidewalk will hurt worse than some falling ceiling tiles.

Government advice usually has to cater to the lowest common denominator, because the public will not and cannot understand nuance. There is also a need to avoid tragedy of the commons (this is why running from tornadoes is not advised, because if everyone tried to flee, it'd clog the roads and people would drive erratically while fleeing, creating even more victims).

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jamred555 t1_ity80nr wrote

No, you don't want to evacuate the building, you're less likely to be injured if you stay where you are and protect yourself from flying objects.

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My-Left-Plate t1_ityduxr wrote

That’s in a city what if I have a big backyard shouldn’t I just go outside?

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jamred555 t1_ityiroh wrote

Sure if you're right by the door, but it may be difficult to walk if the earthquake is significant. And watch out for glass windows

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Source: expert advice I've heard, earthquake drills, common sense

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Jazzlike_Run_5466 t1_itye8ae wrote

When youre in a big earthquake you just try to make judgment call based on where you are in one second so Thanks for the advice but yeah i think i know how to survive. 4 major quakes with 11,000 aftershocks. Immediately after we had liquefaction it got to be 2 meters deep in some places. The roads were destroyed. I used a push bike to get around in one spot i had to throw my bike up onto the road where it split and jump grab on and pull myself up. No water, no power for months. I watched peoples homes burn from electrical fires and your helpless to do anything.

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sumelar t1_iu1jhow wrote

No one is claiming this gives survival advice.

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Also, you're*

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ansraliant t1_ityf6vj wrote

I thought that was handled by an early alert system run by the goverment, not by google.

Maybe it's just the US that has it like that.

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happyscrappy t1_itylap6 wrote

Google sends shake alerts directly through google play services.

Counties can also use their alert systems (like the AMBER alerts) but those aren't as quick. And quicker is better here.

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beave32 t1_itz5rot wrote

They tested and now actively using here in Ukraine in air raid warning systems as well.

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sumelar t1_iu1jcw8 wrote

Maybe read the article. It's public data based on USGS sensors.

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Ryermeke t1_itykwpu wrote

Happened yesterday in the Philippines as well

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CitizenSam t1_iu1tuep wrote

We've been getting these alerts in New Zealand for maybe a year now. It's often enough time to get under a table.

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lolrobs t1_ity6wgg wrote

If everyone's phone vibrates at the same time because of the alert can they create an earthquake?

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Leiryn t1_ityr4zg wrote

Don't they technically mean they alerted people before the strong part of the earthquake hit?

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svadhyaya7 t1_ityeo4r wrote

cats can do the same thing

fuck Google

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richalta t1_itxutby wrote

Except it didn’t.

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