ShakeAlert® Educational Resources: Progress and Future Plans to Support Earthquake Early Warning

As of May 2021, the ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning System operates in California, Oregon, and Washington, serving over 55 million+ residents and visitors. The ShakeAlert system rapidly detects earthquakes with the USGS producing ShakeAlert Messages that prompt alert delivery partners to send ShakeAlert-powered alerts. These messages protect people living in these earthquake-prone regions along with property and infrastructure before strong shaking arrives. An essential component of the ShakeAlert implementation is to educate the public on earthquake hazards and risks, how ShakeAlert works, and how to prepare for and take protective actions.

In collaboration with the USGS, ShakeAlert system partners, UNAVCO, and IRIS, the education resources working group and development team have published a suite of animations and activities for the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning education and training materials online collection. Based on stakeholder input, educational activities have been developed to: support learners in multiple settings, from free-choice to formal classroom environments; offer different time-length options (5-, 15-, and 45-minutes in length); and provide real-world contexts and connections. Learner-engagement strategies embedded into pre-existing activities and lessons from IRIS and UNAVCO were carried forward to encourage active inquiry and learning. Several activities also include an engineering design component and are contextualized within a societal problem providing personal and societal relevance.

This presentation describes the suite of ShakeAlert educational activities and animations available through www.iris.edu/ShakeAlert, highlights upcoming activities and animations that integrate the application of geodetic data from GNSS in earthquake early warning, and shares our plans for collaborations in natural hazards and emergency preparedness spaces.