Earth Alerts is a free utility that enables you to closely follow natural disasters in near real-time as they unfold, using information sourced from authoritative sources specializing in natural hazards and weather. Reports and images will be provided as events unfold no matter whether it be near home or far-off around the globe.
This software’s main focus is monitoring earthquakes, tsunamis, and erupting volcanoes; however, the application also monitors other natural events like hurricanes, typhoons, flooding, and wildfires. Once you set up a location for monitoring, the program automatically updates on a regular basis to show what’s happening in that location at any one time; you can customize updates frequency as well as determine which events qualify as severe enough trigger an alert notification.
Earth Alerts not only aggregates current events data, but it also offers historical and trend information that can be used for research and planning. You can use maps, radar images and Google Earth results to get a visual sense of what’s going on; and use this utility to monitor multiple locations at once while also setting email or SMS notifications of changes.
Customize the frequency and severity levels for each event type to receive alerts only on serious situations. With its built-in search tool and system tray icon, this utility offers quick access without manually launching it each time.
PAGER is another stand-out feature of this program that sets it apart, an automated USGS system which quickly assesses earthquake impacts based on population exposure to shaking intensity, fatality estimates and economic loss estimates. PAGER has been verified against actual loss estimates, making it an invaluable asset in alerting emergency responders, government agencies and media about disaster scenarios.
Software to access satellite images easily is straightforward to set up and runs in the background, so no constant monitoring is required. There are some minor quirks you should keep an eye out for: such as taking longer than anticipated to download satellite imagery. Error messages may occasionally pop up when using this program, though its main appeal lies in its innovative disaster monitoring capability – something especially travelers will find beneficial. At present, Earth Alerts supports locations both domestically and abroad. You can download its most current version here and its installer will warn if your computer does not yet have the.NET Framework installed (required to run it), before offering to install it automatically for you.