Scientists Test Earthquake Early Warning System in California

Quake-prone California is the place of choice for the U.S. government to test an alert system that could warn residents and businesses that an earthquake has hit.

The project, which is still in its test phase, is headed by the U.S. Geological Survey based on computer code developed by the California Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley.
As of now, only about 30 scientists have been hand-picked to receive the warnings through their computers.
A public warning system in place in Japan since 2007 has been credited with saving lives during the magnitude-9 earthquake in March.

Soon after the offshore rupture, millions of Japanese received a few seconds to tens of seconds of notice through alerts that were sent via television, radio and cell phones.

Source : http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/09/20/28962/us-scientists-test-earthquake-early-warning-califo/