Early earthquake warning system to roll out in PNW

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) — An earthquake warning system will soon be rolling out in the Pacific Northwest.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake early warning system known as ShakeAlert will be capable of delivering alerts directly to wireless devices in Oregon on March 11 and to Washington in May.

ShakeAlert has been enabled in California since October 2019.

The system uses a network of sensors that detect the start of an earthquake and calculates magnitude, location and the expected amount of shaking.

It sends the information in real time to distributors that send out alerts to cellphones and the internet.