moments before the napa quake, the first earthquake warning sounded like this at the berkeley seismology lab [beep] >> last night it detected the beginning of the earthquake. pushed out an alert. we got 10 seconds of warning here at the lab. >> reporter: the sensors located all around the bay area picked up the earthquake's nondestructive prewaves and relayed a warning before the s- waves hit the ground. california is behind mexico ask and japan where similar systems are in use. it it is not public in california. 150 test users got the warning. the important thing is that it worked and some day it could save lives. >> we turn it into a public system everyone can get it on their cell phones so they can duck, cover, hold on and reduce the damage or injuries that occur during a earthquake. >>> state senator authored a bill that was passed last year that authorized the creation of an early earthquake warning system. but, no funding mechanism for the system. california legislatures are still looking for the funds to get this built. but, make ting it a cost. $80 million as we know here in californ