Tweet Earthquake Dispatch
The USGS is offering earthquake alerts via two twitter accounts @USGSted and @USGSBigQuakes.
On average, @USGSted and @USGSBigQuakes will produce about one tweet per day, however, aftershocks following major earthquakes can greatly increase this number. Users interested in custom alerts based on specific geographic regions and magnitude thresholds should sign up for e-mail alerts distributed by our Earthquake Notification Service (ENS).
@USGSted
@USGSted (USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch) distributes alerts for earthquakes worldwide with magnitudes of 5.5 and above. We may modify this criteria in the future to tweet alerts for more earthquakes of potential interest. @USGSted earthquake tweets contain a magnitude descriptor, location, origin time, and a link to the USGS webpage with the most recent information about the event. In addition to the seismically derived parameters, the alerts also include the frequency of tweets in a region surrounding the event that contain the word “earthquake” or its equivalent in several languages. Our observations show these tweets often originate from people who have experienced the shaking effects of the earthquake. After some significant earthquakes, @USGSted will also tweet supplementary information about the event.
@USGSBigQuakes
@USGSBigQuakes (USGS Big Quakes) is for users who are only interested in seismically derived content. @USGSBigQuakes distributes alerts for earthquakes worldwide with magnitudes of 5.5 and above. The tweets do not include the frequency of tweets containing the word “earthquake”.
