Twitter Acts as Earthquake Alarm System
An effective earthquake alarm system has been frantically developed since the tragic events of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami as well as last year’s disaster of Japan. The relation of an earthquake to a tsunami is the same as smoke to fire; if you have a deep sea earthquake then chances are you’ll be visited by an unwelcome tsunami. Today the equipment for the alarm system is ready and available to work, but what would the best way to communicate its finding in real time to millions of people; this is where Twitter and Facebook come in. The wireless alarm system that connects all the earthquake alarm systems monitored by the US Geological Survey is connected to their own Twitter account (@USGSted) and the ‘ted’ aspect relates to Twitter Earthquake Dispatch.
The alarm system installation into Twitter has a few examples of success; when a 6.7 magnitude quake rocked the Philippines recently, residents and local media outlets decided to turn to Twitter for information which helped tremendously to quell Tsunami-inspired panic. @USGSted tweets are distributed with #quake so that alarms systems Durban or other potential sites are given adequate warning about any incoming fallout; the hour after an earthquake can cause more disaster than the exact moment one strikes. So far the Twitter account has 186,000 followers who are sure to be safe because of their alarm system at home can inform them about earthquakes worldwide.
The @USGSted also responds to questions on safety immediately after an earthquake which is useful for obvious reasons. If you don’t know what site would make a perfect hideout for the minutes after an earthquake, a quick tweet will result in a response you can trust from experts and seismologists. The USGS may be an American system, but it’s not limited to America; through partnership with the Global Seismographic Network, the USGS can communicate with hundreds of earthquake monitors around the world all at once. I think this alarm system can and will save many lives in the future and its means of communication is practically free; this demonstrates another powerful aspect of social media.