[ad_1]
On April 5th before 5am I woke up to what I thought were my upstairs neighbors rearranging their furniture. They were not the birds’ first neighbors. It was an earthquake. Nowadays there is an app for everything including earthquake information and my phone has exploded with notifications from earthquake apps.
At the time, I’ve been testing the top 10 earthquake apps in the Apple App Store for a week, researching accessibility—including price, languages, and user experience—and accuracy.
Applications cannot predict when and where an earthquake will occur, but there is a relatively new early warning system for the West Coast of the United States. These warnings will come through an app called MyShake.
“So if the big plane hits, it might give Los Angeles a minute or two of warning,” said Julian Lozos, assistant professor of geophysics at Cal State Northridge. Enough time to drop, cover and keep in a safe place.
Here’s a look at the apps, what they offer and whether I recommend them.
At first glance, all ten applications are somewhat similar:
They provide the date, time, location, strength and more about the latest earthquakes around the world, most of which are data aggregators, pulling information from the USGS or its European counterpart, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, and they are all free to download. Some have paid upgrades, from 99 cents to $6.99, to remove ads or access more specific filters.
Updated June 11, 2021 | 5:15 pm
How much water should be on hand to face an earthquake? If you smell gas, do you know how to turn off the gas meter? Do you have an early warning app on your phone? What will a seismologist do?
the news
Prepare for earthquakes in six weeks
From building a kit to buying insurance, the Unshaken News Course will help you prepare.
Enter the email address
share me
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
my shake
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced MyShake as a statewide earthquake early warning app in 2019. It was developed at the University of California, Berkeley and is available in English and Spanish. The app is simple and easy to use, has a self-report feature and very specific filters that allow users to only see certain areas, which is great for keeping the number of notifications reasonable. If you only have one place, this is the earthquake app for Southern Californians. Verdict: download
Red Cross
This app has never sent me any alerts nor does it work as an earthquake tracker or early warning system. However, it is a valuable resource for Southern California. Contains supplemental information on what to do before, during and after an earthquake. It is available in English. Verdict: download
LastQuake
This is the official EMSC app and has visual resources (think Ikea Help) on earthquake preparedness and response. It’s only available in English, but the images allow for easy navigation of the app
Earthquake + alerts, maps and information
Very basic in its design and aesthetics, this app allows you to see earthquakes and patterns. He also kept me updated on earthquakes in my area. It has a name that is very similar to the application of another rule: Take it or leave it
Earthquake + alerts, map and information
This app has specific filters on the map to include information about plate boundaries, earthquake stations, nuclear plants, and even active volcanoes. It has a name that is very similar to the application of another rule: Take it or leave it
QuakeFeed earthquake alerts
It’s free with ads and costs $4.99 for the ad-free version, but the ads aren’t annoying and don’t interfere with access to information.
Earthquake Lite real time tracking app
This application offers a variety of languages, 24. It also provides information about the tsunami. Verdict: Take it or leave it
My earthquake alerts
It offers four languages but is relatively similar in layout and data to all other languages. Verdict: Take it or leave it
Earthquake – Alerts & Map
This app hides the filters behind a $2.99 firewall, which means you can’t control which earthquakes are reported to you. (There are more than 50 every day, according to the USGS; that means dozens of notifications per day.) This app is available in 17 languages, making it accessible to a wider audience.
earthquake +
This app also hides the filters behind a $3.99 firewall. But it is available in 19 languages
[ad_2]
Picture Credit!