Earth Alerts is a real time monitoring tool designed to keep track of natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tropical cyclones and wildfires – providing reports, maps and imagery. The program is user friendly with plenty of options available to track global events!
Earthquakes
Earthquakes are among the world’s deadliest natural hazards, so having an earthquake app installed can save lives and limit property damage in countries or regions prone to earthquakes. These apps offer real-time alerts based on your location as well as filters to customize your experience.
Early warnings typically arrive three to five seconds after an earthquake starts, due to it taking time for seismic waves to travel to nearby stations and computers to process and interpret them. If you live close to the epicenter of an earthquake however, you may not receive an early warning as you may already feel strong shaking before any alert arrives.
The USGS ShakeAlert system leverages scientific ground motion monitoring technology to detect earthquakes, sending real-time alerts via mobile phones or mobile devices that support them. Each alert sounds a distinctive tone and displays on-screen text reading “Earthquake detected! Drop, Cover and Hold On!” Additionally, trigger systems may close water utility valves or slow trains or even open fire station doors depending on its effectiveness in responding.
Earthquake Network, another free earthquake-detecting app, offers a map and list of recent or historic earthquakes, with filter options for magnitude, layout and timing of recent tremors. Furthermore, Earthquake Network allows users to submit reports to seismic networks for reporting purposes; compatible with iOS and Android devices.
Tsunamis
Tsunamis are series of waves created when an ocean’s seafloor or deep waters are suddenly displace. Earthquakes, underwater volcanic eruptions, landslides near shore and glacier calvings are all examples of activities which may generate tsunamis.
As a tsunami approaches a coastline, its height grows exponentially as its speed accelerates and it approaches at incredible speed. As its crest runs inland for hundreds of kilometers, ocean observing satellites can detect tsunamis because unlike wind-generated waves which only travel within the upper atmosphere, tsunamis travel throughout all layers of Earth’s ionosphere which carry radio signals.
A tsunami’s size depends on its travel time to land, its speed and the shape of its coastline; for instance, speed decreases as it travels up a funnel-shaped bay or passes by headlands.
Tsunamis can cause massive destruction as they sweep inland, flooding cities and destroying homes. To stay safe during a tsunami warning, obey instructions from authorities to evacuate and move as far away from shore as possible; or if in the water during an alert, stay away from shore cling to something that floats. Tsunamis often accompany smaller waves known as swells so it is vitally important that one stays vigilant to any changes in the water conditions.
Volcanoes
Volcanoes are holes in Earth’s crust that allow molten rock, gases and other materials to escape from below and form lava deposits at the surface. Volcanic eruptions pose serious threats to people living nearby as well as producing clouds of dust that reduce visibility making it harder for people to see and breath.
Eruptions by volcanoes can produce hot ash and steam that can damage homes and vehicles as well as cause injury or even death to people in the vicinity. They may also release toxic gasses which corrode metals, poison water supplies and lead to respiratory illnesses; furthermore they may cover nearby communities with thick layers of fine sand and rock which make driving or walking impossible.
The USGS monitors 169 active volcanoes across the United States and its territories. While many may remain dormant or active, some could potentially erupt at any moment.
Volcanes that pose significant hazards are indicated with orange or red colors. Similar to aviation codes, color-coded alert levels identify volcanic hazards: green means normal activity; yellow signifies signs of rising unrest which could become hazardous; while orange signals an imminent hazardous eruption is likely.
Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones are intense, rotating vortices of air powered by energy released when rainwater condenses on clouds, also known as hurricanes and typhoons in other parts of the world. When their path crosses land they can cause serious destruction to coastal regions.
Tropical Cyclones: Storm Systems With Well-Defined Centers and Organized Convection That Produce Heavy Rain and Wind in a Circular Pattern The term “tropical” refers to their geographic origin; tropical systems form almost exclusively over tropical waters. Furthermore, heat helps them sustain their structure unlike mid-latitude Cyclonic Windstorms (such as Nor’Easters or European Windstorms), which use temperature gradients in the atmosphere for fuel.
As tropical storms form, they use energy from their surroundings by evaporating water at lower temperatures to create thunderstorms that supply energy to support its core. Once central cloud region forms, atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing height; creating an attractive force which pulls in cool air from surrounding areas into its core through an indirect route called induction, creating deeper convective clouds which continue to fuel its circulation and keep it going strong. This process leads to continued circulation growth as more clouds develop within its core and create further convection clouds forming.
As the cyclone intensifies, its outer winds become steadily stronger while its central area develops an eye. At its strongest point, a storm is classified as a Category 5 hurricane.
Wildfires
Wildfires are a global menace that have long-term impacts on climate. Beyond immediate losses of trees, wildlife and habitat, forests store enormous quantities of carbon gas that when burned releases into the atmosphere – further destabilising climate.
Contrary to earthquakes and tsunamis, which tend to strike relatively isolated spots, wildfires often spread much wider. Burning millions of acres can have catastrophic results for surrounding environments as the smoke from wildfires spreads throughout. As well as having negative health repercussions for people affected, air quality issues have arisen throughout the Northeast region, leading to unhealthy levels of particulates being found.
Earth Alerts is a useful way to stay aware of events. Users can monitor a range of natural disasters and environmental issues from their PC. With numerous settings and features such as National Weather Service alerts, satellite imagery updates and reports. Plus it comes equipped with an effective search function!
The system is user-friendly and simple to set up; anyone can use it. First available to the public in 2005, since then several updates and enhancements have taken place. Free of charge and running on Microsoft.NET framework only, it has received positive reviews on various software review websites while developers accept donations to support future development of this application.
Severe Weather
Earth Alerts monitors a range of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tropical cyclones, wildfires and severe weather events. This software uses various live data feeds to track Mother Earth’s activities before providing user-friendly reports, maps and images that help identify them.
The program allows users to choose which natural disasters they would like to keep an eye on — from global to local — and then set notifications so that if an imminent threat emerges, an alert will be sent directly to them. This feature is especially helpful for those living in catastrophe-prone regions as it alleviates the need to frequently check online weather reports or weather apps for updates.
Extreme weather can be caused by various factors, but most often by sudden shifts in air temperature, wind speed or air pressure – changes which can trigger tornadoes, blizzards and floods.
Meteorologists use sophisticated models to forecast severe weather events; however, even these cannot accurately predict all occurrences in all locations.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has five risk levels for severe weather: marginal, slight, enhanced, moderate and high. Based on storm severity and anticipated impact, alerts may include watches or warnings along with watch/warning alerts from NWS. In addition, Earth Networks Total Lightning Network data allows Damage Type Advisories (DTA). DTA provides in-cloud and ground strikes as accurate measurements of storm intensity than cloud-to-ground strikes alone can do.
