[{"document_url": "https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-12216252.php", "unformatted_src": "https://s.hdnux.com/photos/65/77/54/14154538/4/600x600.jpg", "src": "https://s.hdnux.com/photos/65/77/54/14154538/4/600x600.jpg"}, null]
Rescue workers and volunteers search for survivors in the rubble of a building on Amsterdam Avenue late into the night in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, Sept. 19, 2017. A powerful earthquake struck Mexico Tuesday afternoon, toppling buildings, rattling the capital and sending people flooding into the streets for the second time in just two weeks. Early Wednesday, Mexican officials said on Twitter that at least 216 people had been killed. (Adriana Zehbrauskas/The New York Times)

Mexico’s second deadly earthquake in as many weeks comes with a modest consolation. The nation’s system of quake sensors dotting the shifting landscape gave a minute or two warning to residents to flee buildings before the shaking began.

California can’t offer the same protection, at least for now. This tech-savvy, wealthy state has studied and experimented with a similar system, but it’s stalled at the testing stage due to money. A pending federal budget proposed by the Trump administration may cut the next allotment of $10 million to speed deployment but California representiatives from both parties want the funds restored.

That would be the right outcome. The alert system, already tapped by BART to slow or stop trains, would be a life saver given this region’s tall odds of a major quake. Even a few seconds would give people a chance to flee buildings or huddle under a sturdy desk away from windows. Along with Mexico, Japan and Taiwan have rolled out programs that pick up tremors and shoot updates to public agencies, the media and smartphones.

Better building codes and emergency response training can only do so much. It’s foolish to wait for a major disaster to fuel a public outcry for the alert system. There’s no reason to wait for the next deadly big one.

