EarthquakesDecision to defund the Earthquake Early Warning system criticized
The Trump administration’s decision to defund the Earthquake Early Warning system is being criticized by experts. The “administration’s failure to fund the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system threatens this vital program and potentially the lives of hundreds or even thousands of people on the West Coast from California to Alaska,” says one expert.
Timothy Krantz is a professor of environmental science at the University of Redlands who can speak on the Trump administration’s decision to defund the Earthquake Early Warning system.
“The Trump administration’s failure to fund the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system threatens this vital program and potentially the lives of hundreds or even thousands of people on the West Coast from California to Alaska. Seismic waves emanating from an earthquake travel at only a few miles per second. The EEW system could detect a seismic event originating at the Salton Sea and send an alert to public safety, hospitals or your cell phone, giving one precious seconds or even up to a few minutes warning prior to the shaking,” Krantz says. “This could give school children time to ‘duck and cover’ or surgical rooms time to stop and stabilize the patient before things start to move. For the cost of less than $10 million, the Trump administration’s budget proposal would defund the EEW and put tens of thousands of people’s lives at greater risk.”
Redlands notes that Krantz, an expert on California geography, hydraulic fracturing, and environmental impact assessment and planning, is an authority on the Salton Sea in California. He oversaw a multi-million dollar grant to develop a regional geographic database for the area.
