SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A geophysicist recommended that California upgrade its earthquake warning system, saying that a few seconds notice could save many lives.
Richard Allen of the Seismological Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley spoke at an American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. He said that systems now being tested could provide minutes to prepare.
The Integrated Seismic Network is testing systems that analyze the first waves of a quake and use them to predict the later high-energy seismic waves.
A 10-second warning would at least provide time for "duck-and-cover" alarms and for the automatic opening of doors at fire and ambulance stations, Allen said. Power transmission lines and gas main networks could be shut down.
Allen said that California needs at least 650 new remotely operated seismometers, which would cost as much as $30 million.
He said that the seismological stations in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas need upgrading.
