Napa earthquake renews calls for early-warning system

SAN FRANCISCO — In the years to come, Californians could have valuable seconds of warning before earthquakes such as this week's wine country temblor strike, allowing trains to slow down or stop, power plants and factories to shut off valves, and schoolchildren to dive under desks to avoid falling objects.

Systems that provide such notice are in place in Mexico and Japan. But California has lagged behind those countries and is trying to identify funding sources for the nearly $80 million that is needed to implement an early-warning system.

The earthquake near Napa has led to renewed calls for its quick deployment before another, possibly more destructive, temblor strikes. Researchers are testing a system that could provide tens of seconds of warning, but it is not available for public use.

“(Mexico and Japan) acted after large tragic earthquakes that claimed thousands of lives,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles. “I hope we don't wait for a tragedy of that scale to finally act here in California.”

Meanwhile, local officials have an early estimate that Napa Valley suffered $1 billion in property damage, but they hope the long-term economic impact of the quake to businesses will be modest, Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd said. He said 80 percent of the valley's 500 or so wineries were unaffected.

CoreLogic Eqecat, which models economic losses from disasters, estimates that insured losses from the earthquake could range from $500 million to $1 billion. Vineyards have started to harvest their grapes. If the temblor had happened before the harvest, Eqecat notes, the losses would have been lower.