Earthquake Maps for Disaster Response

Today, we’re going to provide you with a list of earthquake maps to help improve disaster response and recovery.

Whether you’re just an observer or a concerned citizen, these interactive earthquake maps can help you understand the locations of seismic events around the world.

1. USGS Earthquakes

The USGS Earthquakes Map is your real-time gateway to seismic activity across the globe. Through this map, you can explore the dynamic world of tectonic shifts with up-to-the-minute data on earthquakes of all magnitudes.

Here are some of its biggest features:

Earthquakes are plotted on the map as circles.
The size of the circle is based on the magnitude of the seismic event.
USGS records earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.5 and higher.

How does it work? The USGS retrieves seismic data from observatories throughout the world. Although this earthquake map doesn’t include all seismic activity (namely smaller earthquakes), it still can help anyone delve into tectonic activity and gain a deeper understanding of our planet’s dynamic forces.

2. Esri Earthquake Public Information Map

Esri’s Earthquake Public Information Map can help emergency responders, government agencies, and the public quickly understand the location and severity of a disaster.

Some of its notable features include:

The map includes earthquake locations and shaking intensity.
You can quickly zoom into areas of interest as geographic bookmarks like Asia, Ring of Fire, and North America.
Seismic events are updated every 5 minutes and remain on the map as historical events for 30 days.

This Earthquake map taps into the live feed from the USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) alerts program. Another nice feature is that you also have the capability to update the basemap to imagery, topography, terrain, and many more.

3. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC)

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) provides an interactive Earthquake map that offers real-time information about seismic activities in the European and Mediterranean regions.

Here are some of the advantages of using the EMSC earthquake map.

Users can visualize earthquake occurrences, magnitudes, locations, and hypocentral depths on a user-friendly interface.
Options to customize the map by adjusting basemap and changing the timeframe of earthquakes.
Additional layers are available including fault lines and labels.

The EMSC’s Earthquake Map contributes to raising awareness and understanding of seismic activities in the regions it covers. Although this organization has a focus on Europe and the Mediterranean regions, it also shows seismic events for the entire world.