U.S. researchers have developed a groundbreaking earthquake early warning system that could help those living on the West Coast prepare for the next "big one" and even a tsunami that could come after. The technology is based on an underground network of sensors that can predict an earthquake four minutes before it occurs.

The prototype, called ShakeAlert, was demonstrated at the White House's Earthquake Resilience Summit on Tuesday. The system will use undeground seismometers that will be built across the West Coast to measure the waves of energy underground, the Daily Mail reported. The information that will be collected by this infrastructure can be transmitted to broadcast channels such as television and radio, or devices such as mobile phones and home security networks.

"The amount of warning time you get depends on where you are located compared to where the epicenter of the earthquake is," Dr. Richard Allen, member of the ShakeAlert research team, told The Huffington Post. "We would want to push the warning out on your cell phone, your computer, over TV and radio and even push it through your home security system."

The ShakeAlert concept has been in the works as early as 2011 through the sponsorship of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. A working prototype has been tested since last year.

The team behind ShakeAlert is aiming to build an actual infrastructure that the public can use, which could be finished within a year. Its construction could cost as much as $38 million, while its annual operation is expected to cost around $16 million, the University of Washington estimated.