Natural disasters are an unfortunate yet inevitable part of our lives, they are occurrences that live to reshape the direction of our lives once they occur. Be it an earthquake, a volcano, a tsunami or a hurricane, natural disasters can be life changing for those affected by them.
This is why the issue of natural disasters should be a concern to us all. Whether you live in a disaster prone area or not, there is always a chance that you may find yourself in one given the global village we live in now. In this short article, we will look at how you can use technology to save yourself in instances of natural disasters. Given the serious nature of natural disasters, we have done extensive research to give you the best mobile applications that you can use that would not fail you. Below is our list of apps to ensure your safety in natural disasters.
ANDROID APPLICATIONS
- TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING
Tsunami early warning is a tsunami danger notification application developed by ISM labs. For those living in tsunami prone areas such as Maldives , Thailand , Indonesia , Mexico , Sri Lanka , Somalia , India and New Zealand, “tsunami early warning” is a good application to give yourself a virtual safety zone. It works by calculating tsunami wave propagation and sends you a message if you are in danger. Unlike other applications that send alerts based on general generic ocean wide calculations , this app calculates the wave propagation based on your specific coordinates.
- EARTHQUAKE NETWORK
“Earthquake network ” is a real time alert application for earthquakes. It works by using your phone’s accelerometer to calculate and determine any potential occurrence of an earthquake. Since earthquakes travel at finite speeds , this application manages to give early alerts prior to any earthquake situation. Prevention they say is better than cure. Hence by installing ” earthquake network” , you give yourself an upper hand to be proactive in disaster situations. For cases of confirmation and clarity ,this application also displays findings of national and international seismic networks.
- VOLCANOES & EARTHQUAKES
This application gives real time alerts on volcanoes . It collects information from several major seismic centres (20) and condenses them into a single application. With a crisscross of information coming from varied sources , users of this application can be assured of valid results.
IOS APPLICATIONS
- EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMI PRO
This application only runs on iOS devices. So for the apple users , this is a product for you. “Earthquake Tsunami Pro” is a one stop shop for people living in either earthquake and/or tsunami areas. It has all the features we discussed about the earlier applications. It comes in various languages to serve the needs of several geographical areas. Based on user experience reviews , this application is rates 4.3 out of 5 stars on the apple app store.You can download the latest version of this app for your phone , ipad or macbook at the apple app store .
- VOLCANOES: MAPS, ALERTS & ASH
This application is a one stop shop to save Volcano situations. It is an iOS run application that works by calculating and displaying seismic results in your area. Aside displaying tectonic regions on its map , it also highlights areas that are most likely to experience volcanoes by calculating their specific seismic results. Since no fire fighting approach can be used to deal with volcanoes, it is always better to be pre-informed about the possibility of one hitting you soon. And this is exactly what this application does. It has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on the apple app store.
GENERAL APPLICATIONS
- BEACON
Beacon is an application designed to provide mobile friendly ambulance and other emergency services for deprived areas and rural communities. Since these areas are the most vulnerable towards natural disasters , it is necessary that an application of this sort exist to serve unfortunate conditions and circumstances. “Beacon ” comes in both android and iOS versions.