Scientists at both public and private institutions are hard at work on early warning systems that will alert subscribers to an earthquake seconds before the rumbles are felt.
Within a few years the early warning systems should be developed enough to be in homes across the state - allowing people precious time to prepare for a quake. But publicly funded companies and private enterprise are increasingly at odds about how the early warning systems will work and who will have access to them.
Many schools, businesses and state agencies across the state already pay an annual subscription fee for the early alerts but the cost is out of reach for many households. Last year, the California legislature mandated that the development of a statewide early warning system use a combination of public and private funds with no money from the state general fund used to pay for the $80 million price tag.
If private enterprise is putting major money behind the development will the system remain too expensive for most residents? What will a statewide early warning system look like? Should Californians have to pay for access to quake alerts or should the system be free to the public?
Guest:
Tom Heaton, director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory at Caltech