EarthquakesQuakeAlert app to be tested by USGS, CalTech
Santa Monica, California-based Early Warning Labs says that a new technology it developed in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) can alert users before shaking strikes their location. The app, called QuakeAlert, will alert users with a countdown to when shaking will strike their exact location and tell the user how severe the intensity of the shaking is expected to be in their location. The app will be available for free once USGS approves the technology.
The scenario in the upcoming fictional movie “San Andreas” depicts a doomsday seismic event which is all too possible on the West Coast of the United States. It raises questions about how well prepared people are for a large earthquake. Santa Monica, California-based Early Warning Labs says that a new technology it developed in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) can alert users before shaking strikes their location. In some scenarios, such as the one depicted in the new movie, warnings can be up to sixty seconds.
The company says that with an early warning, people could take cover, trains could stop, and oil rigs can be shut down.
The app, called QuakeAlert, will alert users with a countdown to when shaking will strike their exact location and tell the user how severe the intensity of the shaking is expected to be in their location. The app also delivers safety instructions to the user on how to respond if indoors, outside, or in a moving vehicle.
QuakeAlert will be provided to users free of charge, and the company is taking pre-orders now.
The QuakeAlert app uses USGS seismic sensor network data, ESRI GIS backend, and the Microsoft Azure cloud to deliver – when available — what the company describes as the earliest and most accurate earthquake early warnings in the United States.
The app is currently in private beta testing with university researchers at CalTech and USGS researchers, and the company says it will be available to the public when USGS approves the approves the technology.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to offer solutions including QuakeAlert free to the public in the hopes that it will help protect lives during the next big seismic event in the United States,” said Joshua Bashioum, founder of the company.
