# Earthquake near Ojai, California - 2023-08-20 21:41:01 (UTC). In other news, I now know there's a shake app on my phone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 20, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845 "2023-08-20T21:50:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/1 "2023-08-20T21:50:44Z")
My phone made a new noise. I looked at Notifications and saw something like, “5.0 earthquake Ventura you may feel some shaking” … and the room swayed a bit before I finished reading. Cool! [https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39645386/executive](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39645386/executive) From the USGS page : M[agnitude] 5.0 km SE of Ojai, CA. That’s roughly 140 miles / 225 kilometers from me. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/2 "2023-08-20T21:57:36Z")
Yeah, both our phones made that “new” sound, too. It was 2 miles from Ojai, so a little over 50 miles from us. Our dining chandelier was swaying. Otherwise, I’d have never noticed it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/3 "2023-08-20T22:10:54Z")
Did Steve Austin jump off the roof of his house again? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/4 "2023-08-20T22:20:16Z")
Lucy Jones just showed up. She’s so calming. My sister was googling and laughed. She said someone’s question was “Who’s the earthquake lady?” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/5 "2023-08-20T22:24:08Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Did Steve Austin jump off the roof of his house again? I was thinking, “did Jaime Sommers cause that?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/6 "2023-08-20T22:31:39Z")
Oblig xkcd > **[Seismic Waves](https://xkcd.com/723/)** > > The USGS operates a really neat email/SMS earthquake notification service (earthquake.usgs.gov/ens/) that allows fine-grained control of notifications. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/7 "2023-08-20T22:31:49Z")
I wonder… Does that app also crowdsource seismic data collection? Any phone that happens to be sitting on a table when an earthquake passes through could probably feel it in the accelerometers, and the timing and strength with which a quake hits various locations is probably valuable data. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/8 "2023-08-21T00:17:44Z")
Earthquakes have pre-shocks, don’t they? Could 100,000 phones detect those and pinpoint where they’re coming from? ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/9 "2023-08-21T00:18:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I wonder… Does that app also crowdsource seismic data collection? That’s literally what Google is doing. > **[Earthquake detection and early alerts, now on your Android phone](https://blog.google/products/android/earthquake-detection-and-alerts/)** > > Two new Android initiatives designed to provide timely earthquake information and alert people before the next earthquake shakes their home. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/10 "2023-08-21T00:22:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > Did Steve Austin jump off the roof of his house again? > > I was thinking, “did Jaime Sommers cause that?” 😉 You don’t think it was both of them together? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/11 "2023-08-21T00:23:11Z")
> [@plankter](#): > > My phone made a new noise. I looked at Notifications and saw something like, “5.0 earthquake Ventura you may feel some shaking” > > … and the room swayed a bit before I finished reading. Cool! I’m glad you’re okay. Last month I learned that my phone will do tornado sirens, but fortunately it didn’t touch down. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/12 "2023-08-21T17:10:49Z")
Now I have an urge to place my phone on the work table and pound said table with a sledge hammer. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-near-ojai-california-2023-08-20-2101-utc-in-other-news-i-now-know-theres-a-shake-app-on-my-phone/988845/13 "2023-08-21T17:13:17Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > [Earthquake detection and early alerts, now on your Android phone](https://blog.google/products/android/earthquake-detection-and-alerts/) Ah, so, that’s why there was an unusual sound signalling the eq. It was google.