If a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Oregon’s coast today, would you be prepared? Would you know what type of impact this earthquake would have on the buildings in your community? Do you know how long your community would have to go without running water, electricity, or access to fuel?

Thanks to the new Aftershock web app, you can now prepare yourself for this impending event. Created as part of a collaboration between Hack Oregon, the University of Oregon’s Agora Journalism Center, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and a Portland-based new media design studio called Sticky, this web app gives you a detailed, personalized story about what is going to happen when the predicted 9.0 Cascade Subduction Zone earthquake hits Oregon’s coast. All you have to do is enter any address or city in the state of Oregon.

The Aftershock web app will tell you a three-part story.

• Part 1 reveals the impact that the earthquake will have on the infrastructure in your community. It helps you understand how intense the shaking will be and whether you need to be worried about landslides or soil liquefaction.
• Part 2 highlights how long your community will have to go without necessary resources, such as running water, fuel, and electricity.
• Part 3 informs you about important resources that can help you prepare for this event.

Prepare yourselves, your families, and your friends for a 9.0 earthquake! Check out the Aftershock web app today at http://www.opb.org/aftershock/ and find out what you need to do to be ready.

For more information about the process of creating this important web app, here is an article from Media Shift: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2015/05/turning-data-into-civic-tools-journalists-coders-students-collaborate-in-portland/.

 

About the Author: Geoff Ostrove was instrumental in helping to gather data for this project and connecting the team to subject area experts. Currently finishing his PhD in Media Studies, Geoff received his MCRP from PPPM in 2013 and is working with the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority’s Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program as the Oregon Sea Grant’s Natural Resources Policy Fellow. For more information about what Geoff is up to these days, check out his blog at http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/seagrantscholars/author/sea_ost/.