An earthquake of 7.5 magnitude struck Nepal, and East and North India on 25 April. The Earthquake damaged several houses and marketplaces in Nepal. The death toll in Nepal has already crossed 150 and the figure is likely to rise. According to latest reports, the earthquake has claimed at least 8 lives in India.
However, an early alert about these natural calamities can rescue hundreds of lives. Here, your smartphone comes really handy. Google Play store already features hundreds of apps that can notify you about earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and above from across the world.
The earthquake data is mostly retrieved from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) website, which also measures significant earthquakes around the world.
We use an app named as Earthquake Alert. This can see magnitude 1.0+ from the US and magnitude 4.5+ from across the world. The app has already been downloaded 1 million times and has an average rating of 4.3.
It features separate tabs for map and lists last quake updates around the world, map with magnitude details, USGS site details, and satellite map view. The app is compatible with most of the Android smartphones, including budget ones.
Apart from this, Google Play Store also features hundreds of apps that cater to the same purpose.
According to a report, a team of geophysicists has found that most of the smartphones are capable of retrieving early earthquake data through navigation satellites.
In the research, they used LG-made Google Nexus 5 and found the phone can accurately measure earthquake strength and point out the epicentre.
The concept can effectively bring early warning for such extreme natural calamities, thereby save millions of lives.
According to the researchers, Smartphones can use the GPS receivers and accelerometer to sense the motion. Both the sensors can be found in most of the smartphones, including the budget ones.
