This App Could Be Considered Earthshaking
A couple of years ago, as part of my Twitter account, MikeRaphone , I began tweeting about #AppsWorthUsing . You see I’m a collector of sorts, of apps. I am not intentionally downloading as many as I can to increase my collection, but rather as I see interesting apps, I try them out. That being said, my collection is now at 723 apps on my iPhone 6+. When people learn how many apps I have they ask, “how many do you really use?” My answer is, maybe about 20 or so. That got me started on my hashtag and tweeting about apps I felt were worth using! These are apps I find useful for my voice over business. Some of the apps are great for content creation. Others I find useful for social media & marketing, and some are just for everyday life or fun!
A New App that was Just Released
A couple of days ago, Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, the City of Los Angeles, the Information Technology Agency and the Department of Emergency Management, released ShakeAlertLA. It’s a mobile app that sends alerts to users within greater Los Angeles County in the event of an earthquake, greater than magnitude 5.0 or level IV intensity. It’s built on the ShakeAlert system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The most amazing thing about this new app and the technology behind it, is it acts as an early alert system! It notifies you an earthquake has been detected and that you may soon feel shaking in your area. It is really quite amazing!
• Download on the Google Play Store
• Download on the Apple App Store
How It Works
It’s quite interesting to see how the system works. Check out this video. There are two types of seismic waves that carry energy, p-waves and s-waves. ShakeAlert uses those waves to alert you and give you an early alert so you can prepare and Drop, Cover, and Hold On with this early alert of perhaps just a few seconds.
The Threat is Real
Believe it or not, there are about 10,000 earthquakes each year in California! That means there are almost 800 each month, which is about 26 per day. That’s a scary thought! However, most of these are relatively small and cause little or no damage and aren’t even felt my most of us. Here is the statistic that really makes the threat REAL! In California, it is almost certain that there will be a STRONG earthquake by 2037. In fact, experts say there is a 99.7% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or greater magnitude between now and 2037. Most likely, this would occur in the greater Los Angeles and/or San Francisco area since these cities sit on (or near) the San Andreas fault. This fault is the source of most seismic activity in California.
Makes Even a Californian Sit Up and Take Notice
I’m a native Southern Californian. I’ve weathered many an earthquake, and most don’t bother me…too much. I’ve been through several that have rattled my nerves, and a couple that have scared the ever-loving, pudding out of me! They were less than that 6.7 (or greater) that we are supposed to have in the next 30 years. Scary thought! This ShakeAlert app will help save lives, especially as the technology improves, even if it only gives us a few extra seconds to prepare. Speaking of preparation here are a couple of earthquake preparation links you might find useful:
FEMA Earthquake Safety Checklist
Even though this ShakeAlert is an #AppsWorthUsing, I am going to give it one more hashtag – #AppIHopeINeverHaveToUse (But Glad I Have It)
Be prepared. Stay safe. – Mike