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Android app to tell you about earthquake

Prayers and thought to those along with friends and family affected by this event.

Inspired this morning to create an app and publish in the market here.
 
What I use is two fold.

First, I subscribed to the USGS Earthquake Notification Service (link added) because they allow me to customized earthquake notifications I want to receive by any combination of area, magnitude, and time. The notifications are totally customizable since I have three zones setup on USGS. One zone for my local area of California for magnitude 3.0 and above, another zone for the entire state of California including Baja with magnitude 4.5 and above. And finally, a zone for the rest of the world with magnatude above 6.0. I have the USGS send their alerts to the email address of my cell phone so they come in as SMS messages.

Then, I use the SMS Popup application on my phone because it can do specific things depending on the originator contact. So, with a contact I setup properly named 'Earthquake Event' for the USGS email address, when SMS Popup receives a message from this contact, SMS Popup plays a specific audio alert that play's an audio file which I recorded of my own voice saying, "hey, did you fell that earthquake", and SMS Popup does what its name implies and displays the text message alert as a popup to me on the screen. I also use the USGS logo as the contacts picture for a more pleasing appearance.

I also do the same thing with CNN text alerts which plays my voice saying, 'breaking news from the CNN news center'.

Update:
I added a USGS profile for Japan for magnitude 4 and above and captured my screen when I receive the USGS notification alerts, and along with this SMS Popup my phone announces an audio message with my voice saying, 'hey, did you fell that earthquake'.
 

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Hi folks,
Complete newbie here, so please forgive any wrong assumptions. I'm very impressed with the apps that have been developed above, and have yet to publish anything in the marketplace. As I'm sure you have too, I've been watching the pictures from Japan for the last 48 hours, and I think it's safe to say that a state of emergency will exist for at least the next month.

While the apps developed above are incredibly useful (possbily even life changing), I think this community should be able to develop an application / application(s) which would be of even greater benefit to those missing loved ones / looking for information in the aftermath of this disaster.

Personally I would like to see an application to could tie in news & information with a map overlay. If it was possible to tie in with a list of people who are safe, I don't know, I'm open to ideas. But I think there's enough talent in this community to produce a powerful, co-ordinated, effective app that could have people in the light of this week's events.

If anyone (with more experience than I) is willing to work with me and others on this, please reply here. I have a CVS repos ready to go. I don't think it's too ambitious to have something produced by the end of the week, and maybe we can help some families who are missing loved ones.

kindest regards,

Michael.

- Paris
 
mickod said:
While the apps developed above are incredibly useful (possbily even life changing), I think this community should be able to develop an application / application(s) which would be of even greater benefit to those missing loved ones / looking for information in the aftermath of this disaster.
Click to expand...

I added a page to this app in the Market - Devastation In Japan
with a link to Googles JP Crisis Response Center it has a people finder which allows folks to get connected in the crisis. Is also post emergency info phone numbers....
Please check out the How you can help! page of ways to contribute to the organizations responding to the disaster.

Thx
 
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