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System gave warning of Calif. earthquake

PASADENA, Calif., March 13 (UPI) -- Seismologists in California say an earthquake early-warning system proved a success, giving them 30 seconds to prepare for a quake that struck Monday.

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., said Wednesday The Early Earthquake Warning project -- a test run of a proposed statewide program that would utilize thousands of existing ground sensors -- alerted them to a 4.7 earthquake in Anza, around 100 miles to the southeast.

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"It was right," Kate Hutton, a seismologist with Caltech, said of the system.

"I sat really still to see if I could feel it and it worked," she told the Los Angeles Times.

Even a few seconds of warning could be important in the event of an earthquake, seismologists say -- giving utilities time to shut down, trains an opportunity to reduce speed and lessen the risk of derailment and workers a chance to move to avoid hazardous materials or dangerous areas.

Because earthquake waves move through the ground at the speed of sound, about 5 miles per second, a warning system could do little to help people within 20 miles of an earthquake's epicenter, but warnings could help people at farther distances, they said.

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The system that warned of Monday's temblor was part of a beta-test for an early warning program proposed last year, although officials said incorporating the thousands of monitors and sensors across California into a state-wide system could cost as much as $80 million.

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