A personalized geosocial app for surviving an earthquake

Earthquakes are sudden, cause huge damage to extensive areas, and may negatively affect the lives of millions of people. Thus, it is crucial to develop a system that can help people survive an earthquake and recover from its aftereffects. In this paper we present a vision of a smartphone app, called EAGA (earthquake alerter and guidance app), that will guide both victims and rescue workers, by leveraging probabilistic geosocial information collected before the event, during the earthquake and in its aftermath. The app has four modes of operation. In standby mode, EAGA collects data about users, their regularly visited locations and their social relations. In alert mode, EAGA warns of an impending earthquake, based on data collected from a variety of sensors and from government warning systems. It also provides initial guidance to the user during the onset of the quake. In disaster mode, EAGA assists users to cope with the tasks of the immediate aftermath, such as evacuation and rescue of victims buried underneath rubble of collapsed buildings. Finally, in recovery mode, EAGA facilitates family reunification, provides information about aid centers and sends warnings regarding the spread of diseases. We believe that EAGA can revolutionize disaster management, and complements current earthquake readiness efforts, by allowing a large degree of much needed decentralization and personalization in dealing with earthquakes.