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Mobile emergency alerts for UK folks
People in England can receive future messages from local accidents on their mobile phone. The government plans to test its new warning system and will announce it this year. Individual tests are to be carried out on 50,000 inhabitants of Yorkshire, Suffolk and Glasgow. A public vote will follow. It is currently unclear whether the […]
iOS 6 rings on emergency
In compliance with a National Alerting Program Apple devices running iOS 6 will be able to receive U.S. government alerts during an emergency or disaster. “Government Alerts” will be a part of the iOS 6 operating system, which means that Wireless Emergency Alerts can be provided to Apple mobile device users. Author Rick Wimberley said Apple’s adoption […]
GPS Monitoring System for Big U.S. Earthquakes
The space-based technology that lets GPS-equipped motorists constantly update their precise location will undergo a major test of its ability to rapidly pinpoint the location and magnitude of strong earthquakes across the western United States. Results from the new Real-time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster (READI) Mitigation Network soon could be used to assist prompt disaster […]
Emergency Phone App
The Federal Government of Australia has released a smartphone application to provide quick and easy access to information about emergencies and disasters across the country. The DisasterWatch app can be downloaded for free and contains the latest public information via a direct feed from emergency response teams in each state and territory. Attorney-General Robert McClelland says […]
Disaster management with fireballs from Intel
These spherical, rugged, low-cost and autonomous sensors from Intel are designed to be thrown into a fire and report back data such as temperature, free-volatiles and air quality to first responder trucks via WiFi. Vital information such as the hottest spot and the chemical composition of a fire can be sent to both the firefighters’ smartphones and […]
An eye on the storm
Have an eye on the storm that’s coming. Here are some ways to keep tabs on Irene and her sister to come … On The Web New York Times Hurricane Tracker — The cleanest and easiest way to see a snapshot of Irene right now. NOAA Hurricane Center — More information than NYT, this is your resource […]
Flying WiFi robots for disaster relief
Researchers at Germany’s Ilmenau University of Technology are developing flying quadcopter robots that can be used to form a self-assembling ad-hoc wireless network in the event of disaster. Built with off-the-shelf parts (including VIA’s Pico-ITX hardware and a GPS unit) the robots are designed to provide both mobile phone and WiFi access — and they can […]
Tsunami Warning Systems
An early warning system already exists in the Pacific Ocean and one is currently being installed in the Indian Ocean after the devastating Tsunami hit South East Asia in 2004. There are different methods enabling to prediction: Although seismic gauges can detect the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that cause a tsunami, they are not suitable […]
Observing the earth
Satellite images and geographic data provide an important resource for predicting, identifying and observing natural disasters and for coordinating prevention measures and relief efforts. One class of earth observation instruments are optical detects of solar energy, reflected back from earth, into space across various wavelengths, including visible light and invisible infrared bands. Radar instruments shine microwave […]
