LastQuake app earthquake notifications

Users who just felt an earthquake could share their experience by choosing the picture that corresponds best to the intensity of the quake they felt (Figure 2.3 on the right - as shown in source document). The 12 thumbnail-sized images were conceptualized by a professional cartoonist. They aim to be culturally neutral and depict each level of the EMS-98 macro-seismic scale (Grunthal et al. 1998), a scale which denotes how strongly an earthquake affects a specific place. After that, eyewitnesses can leave a comment to describe more in depth what they felt and add a picture or video to give an idea of potential damages. It has been found that some of the users also use the comment section to share their emotions. The comments and attached files can be shared on Facebook or Twitter and will be available to all users.

Note: See source document for full reference.

Cultural Factors: Communication, Access and use of infrastructure/services

Hazards: Natural hazards

Disaster Phases: Response

Types of Actors Concerned: NGOs, Non-active citizens, Active citizens

Recommendations:

• The use of new technologies (e.g. Bluetooth) can improve communication strategies in disaster management situations
• Use cultural factors to improve the effectiveness of disaster communication