Answers, right now
These are not screenshots. Every answer below was produced by the same assistant, from the same live feeds, when this page was last built.
Is there a tsunami warning right now?
No. There are no active tsunami alerts anywhere in the world in the feeds QuakeMate tracks (the US National Tsunami Warning Center and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center). Because none is active globally, none is active for any individual country.
Which countries have the most earthquakes today?
Indonesia has had the most earthquakes in the last 24 hours (26 of the 100 most recent events QuakeMate tracked), followed by Turkey (13), Spain (5), Philippines (4), Mexico (3). This ranks the most recent events in the feed, not every earthquake worldwide.
Which volcanoes are erupting right now?
38 volcanoes are currently erupting worldwide according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, and 3 are on a raised US alert level (USGS HANS).
Tell me a surprising earthquake fact
The biggest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960. It was so powerful it slightly shortened the length of a day and nudged the Earth on its axis. About 90% of the world’s earthquakes happen around the Pacific "Ring of Fire". The same horseshoe-shaped belt is home to roughly three-quarters of the planet’s active volcanoes. Around 500,000 earthquakes are detected worldwide every year. About 100,000 of them can be felt, and only around 100 cause damage.
Which years had the most major earthquakes?
2010 had the most magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes on record, with 24 - the strongest an M8.8, 2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake. Next were 2011 (20) and 1995 (20).
Which fault and trench systems do you cover?
QuakeMate covers 18 hazard zones - the named fault, trench and caldera systems - including Campi Flegrei, Yellowstone, Long Valley Caldera, Reykjanes Peninsula, Nankai Trough.
What it can do
- Tell you whether a tsunami alert is in effect, and which centre issued it.
- Count recent earthquakes in a country, and show the largest.
- Say which volcanoes are erupting and at what alert level.
- Explain how magnitude, aftershocks and plate boundaries work.
- Take you straight to the right page instead of describing where it is.
What it will not do
- Predict earthquakes. Nobody can, and it will say so rather than guess.
- Invent a warning or an all-clear. Official status comes from the feed in the agency's own words, or it is not stated at all.
- Answer from outside QuakeMate. If the data does not cover it, it says it does not know.
In an emergency, follow your national warning centre and local authorities.
This is a beta
It understands plain questions about earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, but it can still misread an unusual phrasing and answer the wrong question. The data behind the answers is the same data the rest of QuakeMate runs on. If it gets something wrong, tell us - that is what beta is for.
Where the answers come from
Earthquakes from the USGS, EMSC and regional seismic networks. Tsunami alerts from the US National Tsunami Warning Center and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Volcanoes from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, with US alert levels from the USGS. The assistant can only use those feeds and the pages of this site, which is why it can tell you it does not know.