Earthquake shakes Los Angeles area, ‘millions’ notified in advance, governor’s office says

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Malibu, California, rocked the Los Angeles area Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A 2.8 magnitude aftershock was registered in Malibu two minutes after the initial quake. A 3.4 magnitude tremor was also recorded 12 minutes after the initial one.

California’s first-in-the-nation Earthquake Early Warning System “provided advance notification to millions of Californians,” the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) estimated millions of people received wireless emergency alerts due to the public-private partnership between the state and Google, which has integrated the alert software into Android cell phones operating systems.

Phones in the affected areas received notifications from the state’s MyShake app, which sent 425,217 alerts. Following the earthquake, there were more than 20,000 new downloads of the app in just three hours.

In addition to the emergency alerts sent, California is also using the technology to automate protective actions such as opening firehouse doors, recalling elevators, shutting off water and gas valves as well as closing gates on bridges and notifying personnel in school and medical settings, Cal OES said in a statement.

“Even as the state contends with wildfires, we must always be ready for other potential disasters. Thanks to our Earthquake Early Warning system, millions of people in Southern California received alerts on their mobile phones when shaking began,” Newsom said in a statement.

The California Earthquake Early Warning System merges a smartphone application with traditional alert and warning delivery methods, known as as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The earthquake system uses ground motion sensors from across the state to detect earthquakes before humans can feel them, according to the governor’s office. Under the state’s leadership, “50% more sensors have been installed since the program launched making the system more accurate and able to deliver alerts faster.”

No significant damage was reported, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.