Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems work on the principle that an alert signal can be transmitted almost instantaneously, whereas seismic waves take longer to travel through the Earth’s crust. Sensors detect the first-arriving P wave and trigger the sending of an alert signal, which can give people and automated systems some time to take action before the arrival of stronger S waves and surface waves. This diagram illustrates a conceptual EEW system in the Wasatch Front urban corridor.