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MyShake?
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Popularity Score: 9
This app was mentioned in 10 comments, with an average of 8.00 upvotes
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I think it's on by default for android phones.
EDIT: It looks like you get the alert by default if it's over a 4.5 on android. This one was right around there, so the alert might have been based on how close you were to the center and your estimated shaking. They won't warn you for minor earthquakes you can't feel. If you want the app to make sure, get MyShake:
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1467058529
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.bsl.myshake
Disclaimer: This is all just information that I am remembering w/o doing additional research and it may be outdated.
You already missed the lecture this is advertising, but it will be available to watch online Not up yet, they are always a month or two behind: https://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/archives.htm
As for shakeAlert, it is an app being developed by The UC Berkeley Siesmology Lab and the USGS that would warn you in advance about an impending earthquake. The way it works is fairly straightforward. An earthquake occurs, but if you are far away from it, it takes some time for the seismic waves to reach your location. This giving time to send out a warning. This is called "Earthquake Early Warning". It is already frequently used in Japan, and California has been working on it for a while now.
Let's say there is an earthquake along the Hayward fault in the vicinity of Richmond, then it would not be felt in San Francisco for ~4 seconds later, and not felt in San Jose for about 10 seconds later. This app would give you a warning that an earthquake has just occurred and how long you have until you feel it at your location.
Shake Alert does not exist for the public yet. It's not ready for the public because false alarms are considered unacceptable, no one wants a repeat of what happened in Hawaii. However EEW systems like is already in use by BART, hospitals and other emergency services around the Bay Area.
If you want to help in it's development by crowd sourcing earthquake data from your smartphone, you can download this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.bsl.myshake
It won't warn you of Earthquakes but it is still pretty cool!
I wish the researchers would explain why it needs access to so much data from your phone.. it should only be accessing the accelerometer and GPS.
Per Google Play: >This app has access to:
>Device & app history >Allows the app to view one or more of: information about activity on the device, which apps are running, browsing history and bookmarks
>Location >Uses the device's location
>Photos/Media/Files >Uses one or more of: files on the device such as images, videos, or audio, the device's external storage
>Device ID & call information >Allows the app to determine the phone number and device IDs, whether a call is active, and the remote number connected by a call
>Other >receive data from Internet
If I can suggest some crowd-sourced science, the Myshake app has just been released by UCLA to turn your phone into a seismograph.
Will this conflict with the MyShake app? Prior to this that's where Californians were being pointed to receive early warnings.
MyShake
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.bsl.myshake&hl=en_US
(Former Californian who used this app)
Get the my shake app.
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1467058529
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.bsl.myshake
Android: MyShake