# California Earthquake App **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167 "2025-04-18T12:54:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/1 "2025-04-18T12:54:43Z")
Recently there was an earthquake in California. Some sort of alert went out to people once the P-wave hit. (Late night hosts mentioned it.) Can I, who has never been to California, subscribe to this app? How? (I would also like to get the Hawaii nuclear-missile warning app, the one that misfired a couple of years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/2 "2025-04-18T13:00:39Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > (I would also like to get the Hawaii nuclear-missile warning app, the one that misfired a couple of years ago.) I’m pretty sure that was just the plain old emergency alert function that comes standard on every phone whether you want it or not, the one that you learn how to disable the first time you get a screeching warning about a child being kidnapped at 3:00 AM. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/3 "2025-04-18T13:01:00Z")
Not sure about an App but I got an alert on my phone and seconds later felt the shake, as did my colleagues in the office. I assumed it is the same system that gives us Amber Alerts, nothing I signed up for, just something that hits every cell phone in a certain range. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/4 "2025-04-18T13:04:08Z")
This site will lead you to **MyShake App** > **[California Earthquake Early Warning | California Earthquake Early Warning...](https://earthquake.ca.gov/)** > > State of California ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/5 "2025-04-18T13:21:20Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/6 "2025-04-18T13:45:50Z")
Be sure the app is set to Always Use Location and Critical Alerts are on. This lets the app do what it needs to warn you, even if you don’t have the app open or the phone muted. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/7 "2025-04-18T22:17:14Z")
Thank you all. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-earthquake-app/1017167/8 "2025-04-18T22:31:53Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > (I would also like to get the Hawaii nuclear-missile warning app, the one that misfired a couple of years ago.) > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I’m pretty sure that was just the plain old emergency alert function that comes standard on every phone whether you want it or not, the one that you learn how to disable the first time you get a screeching warning about a child being kidnapped at 3:00 AM. I dunno, I think it was the Civil Defense warning system, which [you can subscribe to in various flavors](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=how+to+subscribe+to+the+Hawaii+Civil+Defense+warning+system&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&as_filetype=&tbs=). I get all the Hawai’i Island alerts (primarily road closures; occasionally assurances that there is no tsunami risk from a recent earthquake). But the alerts are just regular incoming messages. I have never had a “screeching” warning, though probably there’s never been a need for one since I signed up about 7 years ago.