14 DAY TRIAL // Since Google released the My Maps feature that allows users to build their own Google Maps mashups, numerous consumers manage to build more or less attractive maps. Today, a new interesting mashup is published on the Internet and, following the tragedy from Peru where an earthquake made so many victims, it can be extremely useful for many of us. Earthquake! is created by Reto Meier and comes as an excellent earthquake tracking solution because it provides valuable information about those violent shakes of the ground.
The service provides information for Europe, Australia, United States or for the entire world, showing the location of the earthquake as well as additional information gathered from the web.
"I've drawn my influence from the Natural History Museum's real-time earthquake exhibit, so as well as showing the usual list of earthquake epicentres, I've overlaid the damage radius and the 'felt' radius. The result is a display of concentric circles around the world showing the relative power and reach of earthquakes as they happen. To get better coverage I've also integrated different earthquake feeds from the official surveyors in the US, Europe, and Australia," Reto Meier said for Google Maps Mania.
Google Maps is a very useful service and this is proved not only by the stand-alone technology but also by the mashups built by the fans. This is an obvious example that someone who needs a simple but efficient solution to track earthquakes and find the latest information concerning the volcanoes activity can simply turn to Google Maps and enjoy it with a single click.
Now, Google Maps has been continuously kept in the spotlights due to more or less popular features but the Street View feature was quite impressive when it comes to consumers' reaction. Because it shows street level panoramas, the function captured all sort of things such as animals or people. That's why some of the US residents raised privacy concerns, saying that Street View shows a little bit too much information.