For a wide variety of earthquake scenarios in Alaska, an earthquake early warning (EEW) system could provide at least 10 seconds of warning time for hazardous shaking, according to a new report.

Increasing the density and improving the spacing of seismic stations around the state could add 5 to 15 seconds to these estimated warning times, write Alexander Fozkos and Michael West at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Alaska experiences tens of thousands of earthquakes each year, and has been the site of some of the world’s largest and most destructive seismic events.

The study’s findings, published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, could help lay the groundwork for the expansion of the U.S. ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, which now covers California, Oregon and Washington state.