Natural Disaster, Earthquake Warning System | featured news

Sensors gave 30 seconds' warning before Monday's desert temblor was felt at Caltech. Scientists hope to get funds to expand the pilot project into a statewide network. In the seismic annals of California, Monday's magnitude 4.7 earthquake was little more than a footnote. It gave Southern California a small morning jolt but caused no damage and was largely shrugged off by noon.

The state spends a fraction of what countries like Mexico and Japan spend on their systems. One reason for the lack of interest, experts say, is that California has not experienced a catastrophic quake in more than a century. Japan has one.