Earthquakes are among the most destructive natural hazards, with the potential to cause sudden, widespread devastation. In the United States alone, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimate that earthquakes result in an average of $14.7 billion in annual losses. On a global scale, the financial impact can be far greater. According to SwissRe, primary perils such as tropical cyclones and earthquakes—particularly those affecting densely populated urban centers—can drive total losses up to $300 billion in a single year.
DisasterAWARE® Enterprise empowers organizations to monitor earthquake activity in real time and evaluate the evolving risk landscape with precision. The platform provides comprehensive hazard intelligence, including details about ongoing seismic events and related secondary hazards such as landslides and tsunamis. With this timely and reliable information, businesses and government agencies can enhance preparedness, accelerate response, and reduce exposure to earthquake-driven disasters.
For every hazardous earthquake, DisasterAWARE® Enterprise automatically generates a Situational Awareness report that provides a real-time overview of the event. These reports are continuously updated with the latest data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), including each new version of the Shaking Intensity Map. Each update includes key details such as magnitude, location, depth, and intensity.
Crucially, every Situational Awareness report also includes an assessment of the population, infrastructure, and critical facilities potentially affected by the earthquake. This helps organizations quickly understand the scale of the impact—who and what is at risk—so they can prioritize their response.
When an earthquake meets disaster-level thresholds, our internal response team is activated. This team curates and consolidates reports from international aid organizations and U.S. federal and state agencies, providing timely, verified updates to support more informed decision-making throughout the disaster lifecycle.
DisasterAWARE® Enterprise classifies the severity of earthquake hazards using a combination of scientific measurements and real-world impact assessments to help organizations prioritize their response.
Magnitude 6.5 and above
Magnitude 5.5 to 6.4
Magnitude 5.0 to 5.4
For earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater, DisasterAWARE refines the severity classification using the U.S. Geological Survey’s PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) system. PAGER provides an estimate of the likely human and economic impact based on population exposure and infrastructure vulnerability. This information is typically available within 5 to 40 minutes after the event.
Events with a magnitude of 6.5+ or PAGER severity of Yellow, Orange, or Red
Events with a magnitude of 5.5–6.4 and a PAGER severity of Green
This blended approach ensures that earthquake alerts in DisasterAWARE more closely align with real-world consequences, giving users more accurate insights when time matters most.
DisasterAWARE® Enterprise is designed to deliver timely, targeted alerts that reach the right people when it matters most. For earthquakes, the SmartAlert™ area determines who should be notified of a hazardous event. This notification zone is calculated using multiple scientific factors, including the earthquake’s depth, whether it occurred on a craton (a geologically stable part of the Earth’s crust), and the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI)—a measure of ground shaking felt at the surface.
This detailed segmentation supports faster, more informed decisions—whether you’re managing operations, assessing risk to personnel and facilities, or coordinating response actions.
DisasterAWARE includes powerful Asset Protection tools that help organizations monitor how hazards—such as wildfires—affect the people, places, and infrastructure they care about most.
Once loaded, assets can be viewed in two ways: through the Notification Panel, or by enabling their associated map service layer under the User folder in the Layers Panel.Assets can be user-owned or shared at the organization level. Organizations with multiple teams can also set up Sub-Organizations, each with their own asset classes and notification rules—providing flexibility in how asset data is managed and accessed across departments.
For each asset class, users can define non-user contacts—such as building managers or emergency coordinators—who should receive notifications when a hazard threatens specific locations. These contacts receive email alerts with detailed hazard information, ensuring they stay informed even if they don’t actively use the platform.
These features help organizations stay ahead of emerging threats, understand the geographic relationship between hazards and their assets, and quantify their total exposure—supporting faster, more informed decisions during critical moments.
To support a deeper understanding of earthquake events and their potential impacts, DisasterAWARE® Enterprise provides a suite of specialized data layers available to all SaaS users. These layers offer both real-time insights and long-term context for evaluating seismic hazards.
Asset Protection and Exposure Reporting - it’s ok to reuse the section from Wildfires.
For organizations that prefer to work directly with data, DisasterAWARE’s Data as a Service (DaaS) offers seamless access to global earthquake hazard information through a suite of REST APIs.
In addition to real-time data access, DisasterAWARE supports event-driven updates, allowing customers to receive notifications as soon as significant changes occur. These updates can be easily integrated into internal dashboards, risk analysis tools, or other decision-support systems—helping teams stay ahead of emerging threats without the need for constant polling.
DisasterAWARE also enables more advanced, custom solutions. By leveraging data from USGS Shaking Intensity Maps, customers can build tailored models to estimate precise impacts at specific locations—enhancing their ability to protect people, assets, and operations from earthquake risk.
With DaaS, DisasterAWARE serves as a powerful geospatial intelligence engine, delivering critical earthquake data directly into the systems you already rely on.