Google has been adding in abilities and under-the-hood fixes to make its Search core product the best, most accessible, and most used portal and search engine on the modern web. The newest feature is actually focused on quick access to safety information. Google has announced that Search will now show users earthquakes in their local area, news related to those earthquakes, and safety information such as where to go, what to stock up on and a few tips and tricks for battening down the hatches, if you happen to be at home when an earthquake occurs.
According to a US Geographical Survey, there are roughly 500,000 quakes in the States each year, but only about 100,000 of them are significant enough to be felt in any way by humans. Of those, far fewer actually have all that many dangerous or damaging effects. All the same, Google’s new feature in Search will give a user full information on any earthquake that has recently happened in their area and nearby areas, allowing users to make a more comprehensive emergency plan and, of course, take quick shelter if needed. Users will be able to access information like the size of a quake, what places are affected and safety tips that should be used in your area, if applicable. Users can also check out a useful tremor map to show where the center of a given quake is and if there is any movement or other indication of it coming to their neck of the woods. All of this nifty info will be gathered as a card at the top of your search results, not interfering with your regular search usage, and can be accessed by searching for queries like “earthquakes” and ‘earthquakes near me.”
Other recent quakes in the nearby area can also be shown, to confirm if the quakes felt more recently were simply aftershock, giving users a safeguard against false alarm quakes common in areas like California. The information on both local and nearby quakes will help users to track patterns and plan for emergencies, as well. These earthquake safety and tracking features should already be available to most users on desktop and mobile ecosystems, with the full roll out still going on.