Today, such systems can guarantee alerts about one to three seconds ahead of an earthquake within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the epicenter, or 10 to 12 seconds within 100 km of the epicenter.

SAFER has financed such systems in Naples, Istanbul, Bucharest, Athens and Cairo.

The few seconds of warning provided by the SAFER systems obviously won't help to evacuate citizens in earthquake zones, but are indispensable for activating a series of automatic procedures that can help avoid, for example, interruption of natural gas supplies that could also cause explosions.

Undersea early warning systems can alert coastal inhabitants of impending tsunamis well in advance of when they strike. Early warning systems can warn Spanish inhabitants along the Gulf of Cadiz about 15 minutes before a tsunami hits, while in the Pacific Ocean alerts can be sent hours ahead of tsunamis.

However, even though the few seconds of warning before an earthquake hits would not necessarily help California inhabitants evacuate, "seconds are better than nothing," according to Richard Allen, a professor at the University of Berkeley. "Californians would have at least enough time to get under a table or someplace safe."