Earthquake warningWest Coast lawmakers ask Obama for $16.1 million to complete earthquake early warning system
Last Wednesday thirty-six Members of Congress from western states urged President Barack Obama and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to increase the funding level for earthquake hazards programs in their 2017 budget request — more specifically, to provide $16.1 million dollars in funding for an on-shore Earthquake Early Warning System (EEW) being developed by scientists in Southern California and along the West Coast. The lawmakers say that such an early warning system would be helpful in providing residents and first responders with advance notice that could help save lives, avoid injuries, and avert major infrastructure damage by slowing trains to prevent derailment, stopping elevators, pausing surgeries, and taking other actions in the event of a major earthquake.
ShakAlert screen capture with legend below // Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Last Wednesday, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-California/Burbank) and Derek Kilmer (D-Washington), along with thirty-four other Democratic Members of Congress from western states, urged President Barack Obama and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to increase the funding level for earthquake hazards programs in their 2017 budget request — more specifically, to provide $16.1 million dollars in funding for an on-shore Earthquake Early Warning System (EEW) being developed by scientists in Southern California and along the West Coast.
The lawmakers say that such an early warning system would be helpful in providing residents and first responders with advance notice that could help save lives, avoid injuries, and avert major infrastructure damage by slowing trains to prevent derailment, stopping elevators, pausing surgeries, and taking other actions in the event of a major earthquake.
“Bottom line is, we want to get this done before we have a major quake. We don’t want to be kicking ourselves afterward because we could have saved lives and a lot of property if we had been able to get people some advance notice of the earthquake,” Schiff told the Los Angeles Times.
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Also read:
“Improving West Coast earthquake early warning system,” HSNW, 5 August 2015
“$4 million awarded to support earthquake early warning system in Pacific Northwest,” HSNW, 3 August 2015
“California exploring ways to fund ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system,” HSNW, 10 April 2015
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The Times notes that only Democrats signed the letter, including 27 of the 39 Democrats in the California delegation. Staff for Representative Steve Knight (R-California/Palmdale) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California/Bakersfield) said they were not asked to sign the letter. Schiff’s office, though, said the letter was offered to all members of Congress.
In the letter, the lawmakers write: “While we appreciate past investments in earthquake programs and recognize the inclusion of EEW in your FY2016 Budget, full funding of EEW is critical. Therefore, we urge you to request in your FY2017 Budget $16.1 million for the development of this system so that the West Coast will be prepared for the next catastrophic earthquake. This is proven technology that will save lives and reduce the economic impact of an earthquake; it simply needs to be properly funded.”
