An omnibus federal funding bill that is headed to President Obama's desk after passing in both the US Senate and House of Representatives includes $5 million to develop a West Coast earthquake early warning system.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says the funding is just a down payment and she wants to see the program fast-tracked before the next major quake strikes.
“These federal dollars are sorely needed, but more funding is still necessary to complete the system," said Feinstein in a press statement. "While the state and private sector must contribute their fair share, I will continue to work with West Coast senators and representatives to prioritize federal funds for this life-saving project."
The early warning system is designed to give just enough time for transit to safely stop, gas lines to shut off, and for people to find a safe spot to ride out the quake.
Kelly Van Buren with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services says the funding is a good start, but it's unclear how quickly the Central Coast will see any of the results.
"We've been discussing it here around the office for years, so the funding is exciting but there's still a long way to go," said Van Buren. "Currently they're focused on the larger metropolitan areas, so for our county we are working on a committee with the state, watching the development of the system, and seeing how it's going to unfold and providing input, but it's pretty early for us to speculate how it will be utilized in San Luis Obispo County."
The USGS has operated a cluster of earthquake monitoring instruments at Parkfield along the San Andreas Fault in eastern San Luis Obispo County for decades. The project was an early attempt at learning signature predictors just prior to earthquake activity.