Earthquakes and natural disasters are a tragic reality of this world. It would be great if you could receive alerts directly from your Android phone and track these natural disasters.
Google has an earthquake alert feature for Android that will send you a notification when an earthquake is reported in your area. However, this feature is not yet available everywhere in the world. Alternatively, you can use the following Android apps for earthquake alerts and tracking.
1. My earthquake alert
This app helps track earthquakes around the world. Also, as the name suggests, you can also receive alerts if there is an earthquake in your area. If you’re not receiving alerts, try these fixes to make sure your Android notifications work.
You can customize these alerts to receive notifications for all earthquakes in your country or only for nearby earthquakes. You can also set custom magnitudes so that you receive alerts when earthquakes of a certain level occur.
It also displays a list of recent earthquakes on the home page to help you stay up to date. This list can be customized with region, magnitude, layout, and timeframe filters. You can also search for earthquakes outside your area.
My Earthquake Bulletin is free with ads. To remove these ads, you can purchase its pro version.
download: My earthquake bulletin (free, premium version available)
2. Seismic network
Earthquake Network provides real-time alerts based on your location. You can also review the reports received in the last 24 hours through the Earthquake Network feature and you can become part of this network to report earthquakes.
The app lets you add filters for country, region, distance, or earthquake magnitude. Additionally, you can use the chat feature to talk to others around the world and share your experiences.
The basic version of the app is free. However, there are some advanced features like notification alerts with voice synthesizer, chat message priority, and no ads in the pro version.
download: Seismic Network (Free, in-app purchases available)
3. My Shake
Apart from regular alerts and tracking, MyShake allows you to contribute to the community by reporting earthquakes. You can also see other people’s reports on the shaking strength of different types of structures.
The app will conduct a survey to record your experience. These surveys help other people and researchers improve their research.
The orange dots displayed on the map indicate areas where earthquakes were detected. You can easily see the details from those orange dots.
Like the other apps on this list, you can filter the map for specific magnitudes, time ranges, locations, and more. The app also has a sensor feature that detects earthquakes and provides reports based on sensor data.
You can customize your notifications and change the distance units. The app has a battery saving mode to save power.
download: My Shake (Free)
4. Earthquake tracking app
The earthquake tracker app has a clean user interface that displays recent nearby earthquakes in the form of cards on your home screen. You can check the details of each earthquake by opening the card. You can also search for specific earthquakes based on magnitude, distance, time, or date.
A map view lets you explore recent earthquakes around the world. Like the other apps listed here, you can also customize earthquake notifications.
download: Earthquake tracking app (free, in-app purchases available)
5. Earthquake Tracker
Earthquake Tracker provides real-time notifications based on reported seismic activity nearby. It also displays frequency, energy, and other important metrics.
You can filter the list based on time, magnitude, depth, or distance to see visually displayed and reported events. Additionally, the app has a Tsunami Information Center that provides up-to-date news on potential tsunamis.
If you have some knowledge of the technical details of earthquakes, you can customize everything in this app. Customize your notifications and alerts, including alert sounds, minimum magnitude and depth.
The app also has a voice announcer feature for selected events. It’s especially useful if your app is running in the background and you just want to announce the event through your speaker.
The free version includes all basic earthquake detection features. However, there is a premium version with advanced features such as earthquake history, earthquake records, zones, etc.
download: Earthquake Tracker (Free, in-app purchases available)
6. Earthquake by the American Red Cross
Earthquakes by American Red Cross is a feature-packed app that monitors your location and sets the alerts you want to receive. You can add others to your location to see who is affected and keep your family and friends safe. You can also check out these Android apps to find your friends via GPS.
This app has a guide to help you prepare for an earthquake emergency, showing you what to do during and after an earthquake. It also has a handy toolkit that provides flashlights, alarms and safety messages.
The map view lets you explore earthquakes around the world. You can filter based on global earthquakes, weather conditions, people and Red Cross shelters.
download: Earthquakes by the American Red Cross (Free)
7. Today’s earthquake
Earthquake Today is a minimal app to get insights on earthquakes in the last 24 hours. It is also displayed in weekly units.
To see earthquakes around the world, you can explore the map view. Also, there are the usual filters you can apply to narrow down your results. These include a nearby filter that shows earthquakes close to your location.
The app is free. However, you have the option to make in-app purchases to enhance your experience.
download: Today’s earthquake (free, in-app purchases available)
Stay up to date with earthquake alerts
The safety of you and your family is probably the most important thing to you. Keeping these apps handy can help you stay safe during an earthquake.
These earthquake alert and tracking apps offer most of the basic features for free. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, it doesn’t hurt to install and maintain one small (potentially life-saving) app.