SEATTLE — A new online mapping tool lets Seattle residents zoom in on the natural hazards that threaten their homes or workplaces.
The Seattle Times reports that users can find out whether their office or apartment building sits on soil that will turn to goo in a major earthquake. Other overlays show areas vulnerable to flooding, landslides and quake-triggered tsunamis.
Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management wanted to present hundreds of pages of information in a way that was easy to understand and accessible.
For earthquakes, the Seattle Natural Hazard Explorer relies on U.S. Geological Survey modeling of how the earth will shake in different parts of the city based on the underlying geology.
Emergency managers say the information may help people get prepared for natural disasters.
