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USGS Global Earthquake dataset

The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) offers a comprehensive earthquake dataset, serving as a valuable resource for monitoring, research, and earthquake preparedness worldwide. This dataset encompasses information about earthquakes from various sources, including seismic stations, satellite imagery, and ground-based observations. Continuously updated, it contains a staggering collection of millions of records of earthquake daily.

The USGS earthquake dataset serves a multitude of purposes, including earthquake hazard assessment, which aids in identifying earthquake-prone regions and evaluating potential impacts on communities. Additionally, it supports the development of earthquake early warning systems, enabling timely alerts to mitigate disaster. Furthermore, the dataset is instrumental in the creation of earthquake preparedness and response plans, enhancing community resilience. Lastly, it fuels earthquake research endeavors, facilitating investigations into earthquake hazards and mitigation strategies.

Dataset processing

Since exports were allowed in specific chunks I wrote a program to fetch these over periods starting from 1923-2024. This can be updated since the records extend all the way to 1900 and only earthquakes greater than 2.5 and those reviewed were selected.

Dataset Citation

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). (YEAR). Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP). Retrieved from https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes
Expand to show yearly counts

Year Value
1923 129
1924 132
1925 162
1926 276
1927 310
1928 310
1929 314
1930 296
1931 304
1932 513
1933 877
1934 609
1935 691
1936 580
1937 510
1938 565
1939 485
1940 523
1941 453
1942 455
1943 394
1944 348
1945 285
1946 526
1947 672
1948 580
1949 594
1950 604
1951 506
1952 861
1953 797
1954 842
1955 575
1956 688
1957 637
1958 595
1959 734
1960 1147
1961 884
1962 1028
1963 1308
1964 1076
1965 1225
1966 1070
1967 1202
1968 1543
1969 1685
1970 1492
1971 2129
1972 1596
1973 5386
1974 6721
1975 8823
1976 7621
1977 6808
1978 6929
1979 8207
1980 9663
1981 7831
1982 8514
1983 10402
1984 9374
1985 10312
1986 12341
1987 10896
1988 11111
1989 12307
1990 12213
1991 12713
1992 19893
1993 16333
1994 17041
1995 18667
1996 18669
1997 17459
1998 19307
1999 19594
2000 18373
2001 20627
2002 23647
2003 24515
2004 27466
2005 31323
2006 32478
2007 30997
2008 33039
2009 15618
2010 25037
2011 23285
2012 19939
2013 20559
2014 28577
2015 27015
2016 25233
2017 22860
2018 37558
2019 26600
2020 32212
2021 28650
2022 26916
2023 27291
2024 13528

usgs_eq

Earth Engine Snippet

var usgs_earthquakes = ee.FeatureCollection("projects/sat-io/open-datasets/USGS/usgs_earthquakes");

Sample code: https://code.earthengine.google.com/?scriptPath=users/sat-io/awesome-gee-catalog-examples:/global-events-layers/USGS-EARTHQUAKES

License

These datasets are public domain data with no use restrictions, though if modifications or derivatives of the product(s) are created, then please add some descriptive modifier to the data set to avoid confusion

Changelog

  • Updated earthquake datasets till 2024-07-28

Provided by: USGS

Curated in GEE by: Samapriya Roy

Last updated: 2024-07-28