Report Earthquakes for Science!

We had a bit of a trembler here at Universe Today headquarters on Vancouver Island. According to the USGS, it was 6.4 magnitude, and the epicenter was located about 150 km from my house. It wasn’t the most severe earthquake I’ve felt, but there was no question… that was an earthquake.

Twitter user @OzoneVibe was good enough to pass along a link so I could report my experience for Science! The USGS provides a questionnaire for every earthquake so you can give your details about the shaking, any damage, etc. Here’s the one created for the Vancouver Island earthquake.

If you’re caught in an earthquake in the future, do a Google search for “did you feel it“. Then you can report your own experience and help geologists better understand earthquakes.

Now I’ve got to prepare for my kids coming home from school – they’ll hammer me with questions. I’m sure we’re going to be doing earth science late into the evening.

9 Replies to “Report Earthquakes for Science!”

  1. You might be interested in looking at Quake Catcher Network, http://qcn-upl.stanford.edu/qcnbeta/ a project running on BOINC software. Motion sensors in modern laptops and I think devices for desktops report tremors in seconds. In L.A. last time, they reported a quake in seven seconds.

  2. The USGS upgraded the Vancouver quake today to 6.7 about 20 or so minutes after the quake. The reporters, of course missed this little fact though. I live 45 miles south of Seattle WA, and was at Seatac Airport when the quake happened. I didn’t feel a thing, but I wasn’t all that close to it, about three to four hundred miles away? You can sign up at the USGS site to have reports on earthquakes sent to your e-mail address. I actually got the report 45 minutes after the quake while at work. I suggest limiting the magnitude of the earthquakes that you get sent to you or your in box will quickly fill up. I have mag 5.0 and up sent to me. The 7.0 Nisqually quake had an epicenter 10 miles from my house.

  3. I bet this didn’t even get reported on the other coast. It didn’t affect them so they don’t care.

  4. It’s a curse being an English language savant, but the word is temblor, as opposed to trembler. I know, I know, it makes little sense, but, well, that’s what we call it when the Earth “trembles.”

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