Earthquake early-warning system's future still in doubt

Supporters of California's quake early warning system hope this week's success will prompt state officials to help fund completion of the network.

The system currently is being funded as a pilot program, largely by private donations as a temporary project.

Scientists and some lawmakers have called for the state to pay to make the system permanent.

Backers want the state to spend $80 million to install and upgrade thousands of the sensors across California. If they can get the money, seismologists said the system could be operational in two years.

Without the funding, the future of the system is unclear.

Monday's 4.7 temblor in Anza marked a big advance for the system.

The quake struck in the desert town of Anza, about 35 miles south of Palm Springs, and hundreds of sensors embedded in the ground immediately sent an alert to seismologists at Caltech in Pasadena. They had 30 seconds' warning before the quake was felt there.

"It was right," said Kate Hutton, a Caltech seismologist. "I sat really still to see if I could feel it and it worked."

4.6 earthquake shakes Northern California

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Northern California on Thursday morning,

The temblor struck about 26 miles north of Santa Rosa in the Geysers area. There were no reports of damage or injuries, but there were some apparent aftershocks.

It was felt over a wide area of the region, including in Santa Rosa, Marin County and Vallejo, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The "Do You Feel It?" survey by the USGS showed people as far south a San Francisco felt shaking.

ALSO:

Still no verdict in Bell corruption trial; jurors on Day 13

Rapist held in mental hospital must be tried or freed, court says

Drunk driver killed brother, faces manslaughter charges, D.A. says

--Shelby Grad

Image: USGS

Earthquake early warning system passes major test with quake

In the seismic annals of California, Monday’s 4.7 earthquake was little more than a footnote. It gave Southern California a small morning jolt but caused no damage and was largely shrugged off by noon.

But in one important way, the quake was highly significant because it marked an advance in California’s burgeoning earthquake early warning system.

The quake struck in the desert town of Anza, and hundreds of sensors embedded in the ground immediately sent an alert to seismologists at Caltech in Pasadena. They had 30 seconds warning before the quake was felt there.

“It was right,” said Kate Hutton, a seismologist with Caltech. “I sat really still to see if I could feel it and it worked.”

The system has been in place for more than a year. But Monday’s quake offered a rare opportunity to actually see – and feel -- if it worked.

The sensor have warned scientists of numerous quakes, but the vast majority were either too small to feel or too far away to be felt in the Los Angeles area. For example, the sensor gave an early warning of several magnitude 5 quakes last year in Imperial County, but the temblors hit too far away for them to felt in Los Angeles.

The Anza quake was different.

Even though it measured magnitude 4.7, its location on solid granite made the shaking stronger and more widespread. People reported to the USGS that they felt it as far away as Arizona and Central California. At Caltech, computer screens flashed with a 30-second countdown to when the shaking would hit Pasadena. Sure enough, it came on time.

Hutton and other declared the test a success, with some caveats.

The system initially overestimated the quake’s magnitude, saying it was a 5.2. But U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough was not overly concerned about the error. She noted that the main job of the system is to alert people to a coming quake, not to gets its magnitude precisely right. The Anza quake caused an unusually intense amount of shaking, Hough added, so the warning system accurately captured that.

The early earthquake warning system is a pilot project for what scientists hope will eventually be a statewide network using thousands of sensors to notify people about imminent shaking from moderate to strong earthquakes.

Earthquake early-warning system successful during Monday quake

An earthquake early warning system being tested in California gave seismologists in Pasadena up to 30 seconds to prepare for Monday morning’s temblor in the desert of Riverside County.

“It was right,” said Kate Hutton, a seismologist with Caltech. “I sat really still to see if I could feel it and it worked.”

The Early Earthquake Warning project, a test run of a proposed statewide program that would use thousands of sensors already in place to notify people about imminent shaking from moderate to strong earthquakes, alerted Caltech scientists about a 4.7 temblor in Anza.

In the moments leading up to an earthquake, even a few seconds can make a difference, seismologists say.

An early warning would give utilities time to shut down, trains a chance to slow so they don’t derail and workers a chance to move away from hazardous materials or precarious positions.

The system that warned Hutton on Monday morning was part of a beta-test for an early warning program proposed by state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) earlier this year.

Researchers have relied on about $400,000 annually to develop technology for the system. A $6-million grant in 2011 from the Palo Alto-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation injected more life into the project, but experts estimate upgrading monitors and sensors across California – there are thousands of them – would cost up to $80 million.

Los Angeles area jolted by earthquake

Holly Lawson was working in a campground kiosk at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, about 60 miles south of the epicenter of Monday's earthquake, when the windows in her tiny kiosk began to rattle.

The rolling rumble lasted about six seconds, she said, and she could see a man outside in his truck as it swayed back and forth.

"The truck was actually physically moving," Lawson said.

A San Diego native, she had already guessed the temblor's magnitude by the time the shaking stopped.

"I'm always concerned about these windows when we feel a quake," she said. "We're surrounded by them."

Lawson, who lives in Anza, near the quake's epicenter, got a call from her teenage son soon after, who reported there had been a loud, sudden crack of sound before the shaking began. Their home, which is a manufactured house, had experienced small cracks after a similar earthquake about a year ago, and Monday she told her son to search for damage to the walls, water lines and propane lines.

Meanwhile, campers in nearby RVs came one by one to ask if that had, indeed, been an earthquake "or if they were just going crazy," said Lawson.

Mary Ann McKennon, a volunteer camp host and Idaho native, said she didn't know what was going on at first.

"My first thought was that we've been having some funky winds, and sometimes they blow pretty hard," she said. Soon she saw the truck outside rocking, too.

"I didn't like it at all," said McKennon, who has worked on and off at the campsite for 6 years. "Do you ever get used to them?"

Although some lifelong Southern Californians didn't bat an eye at Monday's quake, it was a different story for Minnesota transplant Shannon Haber. Even though she's lived here since 1996, Haber said, she definitely has not gotten used to earthquakes.

“I was just a little frightened,” Haber said. “There was small shaking and it made me nervous because I’m 23 floors up.”

Haber was working in Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters in Westlake when the earthquake shook at 9:56 a.m. more than 100 miles away in Anza in Riverside County. The shaking was the biggest and longest-lasting she could remember.

“It was a slow, swaying motion,” she said. “It sort of felt like I was on a boat, a sort of wavy feeling that lasted 10 to 20 seconds. … No one else reacted around me. They’re all veterans of earthquakes.”

In Anza, about 10 customers had sat down to a late breakfast at a Diner 371 when the quake struck about 20 miles away.

Nothing was broken and no one was hurt, said Diner 371 waitress Michelle Padaron, 30, who was stocking tables with napkins when the quake struck.

After four seconds of shaking, customers quickly returned to their meals of burgers, burritos and eggs, Padaron said.

 "Everyone just kind of looked up, then looked at each other, and that was it," Padaron said.

ALSO:

Two men lose legs in downtown strip club fight

San Diego man mourned after sailboat-race death

Visitors return to lion sanctuary where intern died

-- Christine Mai-Duc, Frank Shyong and Joseph Serna

Southern California earthquake largest in greater L.A. since 2010

The magnitude-4.7 earthquake that rattled Southern California on Monday was the largest centered in the greater Los Angeles area since 2010, officials said.

“It’s been three years since we had anything this size this close to Los Angeles,” said Susan Hough, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. She cited a magnitude-5.4 quake that struck the desert area in July 2010.

Since then, Southern California has experienced quakes larger than Monday's but they occurred closer to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Monday's quake was preceded by a small foreshock, which confused the survey’s monitoring system into recording multiple shocks of various sizes. The temblor was centered a few miles northeast of the San Jacinto fault, Hough said. 

The quake struck at a depth of 7 to 8 miles, about 2 miles deeper than a typical quake, Hough said. Deeper quakes cause vibrations to travel farther and are less likely to create aftershocks, she said. 

People as far away as Sequoia National Park, about 250 miles away, reported feeling the quake. There were no reports of damage or injuries in the Southland.

Officials initially reported three moderate temblors -- the largest being a magnitude 5.2. Since then, officials said there was only one quake, measuring 4.7 near Anza in Riverside County.

There have been more than 60 aftershocks since then, all relatively small.

“It was a pretty good shake up here.” said Capt. Daniel Heiser of the Riverside County Fire Department.

ALSO:

Two men lose legs in downtown strip club fight

San Diego man mourned after sailboat-race death

Visitors return to lion sanctuary where intern died

-- Joseph Serna and Frank Shyong

Image: Map shows where quake were centered. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Earthquake: More than 50 aftershocks from California desert temblor

There have been more than 50 aftershocks from a sharp earthquake that struck the Southern California desert Monday.

Although the U.S. Geological Survey initially reported three separate strong quakes, officials told The Times there was one 4.7 temblor that sensors initially counted as three quakes. All the aftershocks were significantly smaller, and no damage was been reported.

“It was a pretty good shake up here,” said Capt. Daniel Heiser of the Riverside County Fire Department.

He said firefighters had not received any reports of damage but they are driving through the community to assess the damage firsthand. The temblor occurred at 9:55 a.m.

People reported feeling the quake as away as Canoga Park, 130 miles from the epicenter, and Sequoia National Park, 250 miles away. Two people in Tijuana also reported to the USGS that they felt it.

The epicenter was about seven and a half miles underground and was about 16 miles southwest of Palm Desert. Dozens of aftershocks have been listed for the area.

The next-largest quake in that area was a 5.6 in 1980, according to the USGS website.

In Los Angeles, police officials said there were no reports of damage.

ALSO:

Two men lose legs in downtown strip club fight

San Diego man mourned after sailboat-race death

Visitors return to lion sanctuary where intern died

--Joseph Serna and Frank Shyong

Image: Map shows area where quake struck. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

5.2 earthquake shakes Southern California

This post has been updated. See below for details.

A  magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Monday morning in the Riverside County desert, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It was the second earthquake in the Anza area Monday. [Updated at 10:59 a.m., March 11: The quake has been downgraded to 4.7 magnitude.]

The most recent temblor occurred at 9:55 a.m. and was felt at least as far away as downtown Los Angeles. Anza is about 30 miles east of Temecula.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey noted several aftershocks.

[Updated at 10:32 a.m., March 11: The temblor was centered about 23 miles from Palm Springs and 64 miles from San Diego.

“It was a pretty good shake up here.” Capt. Daniel Heiser of the  Riverside County Fire Department. 

The Los Angeles Fire Department was assessing the situation but reported no immediate damage.]

ALSO:

Two men lose legs in downtown strip club fight

San Diego man mourned after sailboat-race death

Visitors return to lion sanctuary where intern died

-- Joseph Serna

Image: Map shows area where quake struck. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey 

Lawmaker wants $80 million for earthquake warning system

A group of California’s top earthquake experts announced an $80-million plan to build what would be the nation’s first earthquake early warning system. State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) is proposing a bill that would search for funding to pay for the installation and upgrade of underground sensors and other equipment to create the network.

The system would give the public crucial seconds of warning before a major temblor hit metropolitan areas.

The sensors would detect the first signs of a quake and send text alerts to nearby areas that would feel shaking seconds later. California already has hundreds of sensors in the ground, but the state needs significantly more in order to create the network, experts said. The existing sensors would also need improvement.

Several countries, including Japan, Mexico and Romania, are well ahead of the United States in building such systems. When the massive 2011 Japan quake hit, the early warning system sent text messages to roughly 50 million people, telling them the shaking was about to start. Warning alerts went off in Tokyo seconds before the shaking, and all trains had time to slow or stop. Not a single train derailed. Last year, residents in Mexico City were warned shortly before a magnitude 7.4 quake near Acapulco.

Padilla said it’s time for California to build its own system, adding that $80 million is a relatively small price to pay, given the potential savings. The fully functioning system could be operational within two years.

"What would happen if people had 30 to 60 seconds before the shaking started?" Padilla said. "It means you could save a child. Teachers to tell their students to take cover. Operators can stop a train. On and on and on. With a little additional warning, we can mitigate a lot of the damage and injuries, and even deaths, that we associate with big earthquakes."

Experts said the warning system would be particularly helpful for quakes on the San Andreas Fault, which in Southern California is located some distance from major population centers. A quake that hits at the Salton Sea, for example, would offer metropolitan Los Angeles a minute of warning before shaking is felt in the city.

It remains unclear how much support the bill will receive in the Legislature. California’s budget picture has improved significantly since voters approved the Proposition 30 tax increases last year.

Padilla did not identify a specific source of funding Monday but said he hoped to locate sources of funding by August. He said he wanted to help educate Sacramento and Washington lawmakers about the merits of this early warning system.

“It’s going to be a challenge. If it was easy, it would’ve already been done,” Padilla said. “When you put the $80-million figure side by side compared to the billions upon billions of damage that we suffer after every big earthquake, I think the investment is a no-brainer,” Padilla said.

ALSO:

Frank Ocean wants Chris Brown prosecuted in clash over parking spot

Latino kids disproportionately victimized by teachers, lawyer says

Manti Te'o hoax: Diane O'Meara says she was hounded for photos

-- Rong-Gong Lin II in Pasadena and Rosanna Xia in Los Angeles

4.2 earthquake hits Central California wilderness

 A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was reported Sunday in a wilderness area of Central California.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the temblor occurred at 9:25 p.m. The epicenter was five miles northwest of Pinnacles and 13 miles northeast of Soledad.

The Pinnacles National Monument is a vast wilderness area containing a rock formation left by an extinct volcano. The San Andreas fault runs through the region and seismic activity is frequent.

There were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

Smaller quakes earlier Sunday shook parts of Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

ALSO:

Driver arrested in deaths of two people in skid row

Boy, 13, 'played dead' after gunman shot 5 in his family

Investigators probe Carson house fire that killed elderly woman

--The Associated Press