Your phone can now warn you before an earthquake arrives.
Yes, before…
This feat of science and personal technology is the best example I’ve seen of how smartphones can help protect tens of millions of us from significant danger. I’ll show you how to get it.
Known as ShakeAlert, America’s earthquake early-warning system was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners to give you typically up to 20 seconds of advance warning before significant shaking arrives, or even a minute in extreme circumstances. If you’re close to the epicenter, you might not get much notice — but it could still be enough to protect yourself.
In the house or at work? 20 seconds can be time enough to get out.
Eideard 
Some Bay Area residents were promptly woken up by a ShakeAlert app notification 10 seconds before a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Humboldt County early Tuesday morning. At 2:34 a.m., emergency officials released an alert via the ShakeAlert system operated by the U.S. Geological Survey telling people to drop, cover and hold on for an earthquake that occurred about 8 miles offshore of Ferndale, a town more than 250 miles north of San Francisco.
The alert was sent to some 3 million people in Northern California, and the system successfully operated as emergency service crews hoped, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bay-area-residents-alerted-seconds-before-early-morning-quake-in-humboldt-co/
Go ahead, count to ten…