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Oregon Hazards Lab outlines Cascadia risk, seismic sensors and ShakeAlert basics
Summary
Autumn Lukens of the Oregon Hazards Lab presented on Cascadia Subduction Zone risks, the regional seismic sensor network (270+ sites in Oregon), how ShakeAlert works and why intensity matters more than magnitude for local warnings.
Autumn Lukens, communications and policy specialist with the Oregon Hazards Lab at the University of Oregon, gave a technical but audience-focused presentation on Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake risk and the state-wide sensor network that informs early warning.
"We live in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which is where 2 plates meet," Lukens said, describing the Juan de Fuca and North American plates and the long return period since the last major event in 1700. She explained the lab operates more than 270 seismic sites in Oregon as part of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and the Advanced National Seismic System and described ShakeAlert operation: sensors detect the initial P-wave to provide seconds to tens of seconds of warning before stronger shaking (S-wave) arrives, and local intensity—not just magnitude—determines whether people will feel shaking or receive alerts.
