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Why should we prepare for earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest? How could seconds of warning help make us less vulnerable to damage and injury? How do earthquake early warning (EEW) systems work, and when might we have one?

As part of its 2019 Annual Meeting, the Seismological Society of America is hosting a public town hall meeting Tuesday, April 23 regarding EEW systems in the Pacific Northwest. The meeting takes place at The Westin Seattle in rooms Cascade I & II.

A panel of experts will discuss how these systems function, how they can prevent damage and injury and when they’re expected to be implemented throughout the Pacific Northwest. Special focus will be on the ShakeAlert EEW system.

Sandi Doughton, Seattle Times science reporter and author of Full-Rip 9.0: The Next Big Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, will discuss Seattle’s earthquake history and risk.

Scott Miles, an expert in disaster risk reduction in the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington, who will speak about what he learned from his experiences in Mexico, where EEW systems have been in use for years.

Harold Tobin, director of the PNSN at the University of Washington, will explain how ShakeAlert works and when it will be operational. Rachel Lanigan, ShakeAlert program manager at Bothell, WA-based RH2 Engineering, Inc., will explain how ShakeAlert can be used to automatically protect critical infrastructure.

A Q&A session for members of the public to ask questions and share their views will be moderated by Douglas Toomey, director of the University of Oregon’s component of the PNSN.

The meeting is open to the public and free to attend.

Video demonstration of the ShakeAlert system (source: Pacific Northwest Seismic Network): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO3qeqAvLcA&t=1s