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Google Public Alerts

       I was in the office having my lunch today with my colleagues, when we felt the tremors of a 5.2 magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was at Bahadurgarh in Haryana about 46 km (28 miles) from Delhi - the capital of India. I went back to my desk and that is when I came across this new initiative of Google - Google Public Alerts. Google Public Alerts is Google’s new platform for disseminating emergency messages such as evacuation notices for hurricanes, and everyday alerts such as storm warnings.

       Google Public Alerts is actually a project of the Google Crisis Response Team, supported by Google.org which uses Google's strengths in information and technology to build products and advocate for policies that address global challenges.Google Public Alerts has started by showing relevant weather, public safety and earthquake alerts from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) when you search on Google Maps.

       You can see the latest and the most important alerts from across the web when and where they are needed the most.


       Do write in to say what you think of Google's new initiative - Google Public Alerts.
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  1. AnonymousMarch 10, 2012 at 3:52 PM

    Dear Google,
    re: Google Public Alerts initiative

    Thank you for this service. I think is an answer to a global need for maps of disaster areas at the time a disaster occurs. Successful disaster response begins with a map. Incident Support Teams need to know where the disaster happened in order to procede to the site to assist the affected area with initial response and recovery.
    The next step for google would be to come up with a means to present the incident area by a perimeter polygon. Please see my discussions on LinkedIn Disaster Researchers and Disaster Management Professionals.
    Vivian A. Wasson, M.S., LSIT
    Springfield, Missouri
    GIS Specialist/Disaster Reservist
    Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management
    Southwest Missouri Incident Support Team (SWMOIST)
    Wasson2008@live.missouristate.edu
    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/vivian-a-wasson-m-s-lsit/48/6b9/308

    ReplyDelete

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