Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phones got a warning

Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by digitallyfree on Thursday December 23, 2021 @11:31AM (#29663438)

While mobile alerts are great, I wish there was a way to (voluntarily) get those official warnings via other means like (landline) phone call, SMS, or email - in cases where you may not have your phone on you or if there is no service.

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Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by dragonwriter on Thursday December 23, 2021 @02:21PM (#29665409)

> I wish there was a way to (voluntarily) get those official warnings via other means

Mobile alerts are the most recent addition in the US; they are also carried by radio and TV broadcast, Cable TV, and a variety of other mechanisms. But not POTS,SMS, or email.

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Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by seidoger on Thursday December 23, 2021 @03:27PM (#29666086)

I don't know if that's everywhere in Japan but in 2014 I was in Tokyo having lunch outside when suddenly this fast alert (ie. not a slow siren) started blaring, 5 seconds later the ground was shaking.

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Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by bamboozled on Thursday December 23, 2021 @06:09PM (#29667644)

It’s a super scary noise and says calmly over the top “地震です” over and over again.

Definitely had my fair scare of shares when visiting Tokyo.

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Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by therealdrag0 on Thursday December 23, 2021 @12:54PM (#29664386)

Have you checked your local government services? Some have emergency alerts via sms. Not sure if earthquake maybe be included.

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Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by akyoan on Thursday December 23, 2021 @02:04PM (#29665220)

I'm not sure if SMS and email are ever considered urgent enough for this purpose. The alert is sent out seconds before, it's either a loud and unusual sound or you might get to read/answer after it actually hits.

i.e. it'd be useless.

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Re:Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phone... by nostrademons on Thursday December 23, 2021 @08:12PM (#29668781)

SLAs for SMS are also about 98%. 1 in 50 messages isn't going to get to its intended recipient in any reasonable timeframe, which is pretty bad for a time-sensitive public safety feature.

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