Owner Janet Trefethen, right, and president Jon Ruel, left, talk about the earthquake damage to the historic winery building, seen in the background, dating from 1886 at Trefethen Family Vineyards Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, in Napa, Calif.SAN FRANCISCO – In the coming years, Californians could have valuable seconds of warning before earthquakes such as this week’s wine country temblor strike, allowing trains to slow down or stop, power plants and factories to shut off valves, and schoolchildren to dive under desks to avoid falling objects.
Earthquake early warning systems that provide such notice are in place in Mexico and Japan. But California has lagged behind those countries, and is still trying to identify funding sources for the roughly $80 million needed to implement an early-warning system in the state.
Sunday’s rolling 6.0 shake near Napa has led to renewed calls for its quick deployment before another, possibly more destructive temblor strikes. Researchers are testing a system that could provide tens of seconds of warning, but it is not available for public use.
“(Mexico and Japan) acted after large tragic earthquakes that claimed thousands of lives,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, said. “I hope we don’t wait for a tragedy of that scale to finally act here in California.”
Richard Allen, director of the University of California, Berkeley, Seismological Lab, said his lab received a 10-second advance notice predicting a 5.7-magnitude quake and warning of light shaking before Sunday’s quake struck. Allen is among the researchers testing the earthquake warning system envisioned as the basis for the state’s system.