Disaster glossary

Reports that people send through the source's own form to say they felt an earthquake. Koruya shows the number of reports sent to the source; it is not the number of people who felt the earthquake.

Source: USGS · app text

Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the public body responsible for disaster and emergency management. It sets Türkiye's assembly areas and is the source of many of Koruya's guides and lessons.

Source: AFAD · app text

Smaller earthquakes in the same area after a large one. Every large earthquake is followed by aftershocks, which become rarer and smaller over time. Koruya does not forecast aftershocks.

Source: AFAD · app text

Open areas where the authorities ask people to gather after a disaster. In Türkiye, AFAD sets the assembly areas, and you can look up the nearest one to your address on e-Devlet. Assembly points on Koruya's map come from community data and are not confirmed as official.

Source: AFAD · app text

An international data standard that lets authorities publish their warnings in the same format across different systems. In Koruya it appears as “National warning feeds (CAP)”.

Source: WMO · app text

A colourless, odourless, poisonous gas given off by fuel-burning devices such as generators, grills and stoves. Headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain or confusion can be signs of poisoning: get medical advice as soon as possible.

Source: CDC · app text

The channel many countries use to send official warnings straight to phones through the mobile operators. No app can read these messages; only your phone shows them, and only if the setting is on. Its name differs by country and phone.

Source: Koruya · app text

Water-soaked soil, rock and debris rushing down stream channels, usually during heavy rain. Near a stream, water suddenly rising or falling, or clear water turning muddy, is a warning sign.

Source: FEMA · app text

Three steps to protect yourself during shaking. Drop: get down on your knees. Cover: protect your head and neck. Hold on: hold on to something fixed so you do not fall, and stay where you are until the shaking stops.

Source: AFAD · app text

Systems that aim to detect an earthquake as it starts and send a warning seconds before strong shaking arrives. Very close to the epicentre the warning time can be very short or nonexistent. Koruya does not give earthquake early warnings.

Source: USGS · app text

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC-CSEM), which publishes earthquakes in Europe and the Mediterranean. Koruya takes earthquakes of magnitude 2 and above within about 1000 km of you (last 7 days) from EMSC.

Source: EMSC · app text

The point on the Earth's surface directly above where an earthquake starts underground (the focus). The location shown for an earthquake on a map is usually its epicentre.

Source: USGS

Leaving a place in danger for a safer one, usually when the authorities call for it. Know your evacuation route in advance and leave at once when the authorities tell you to.

Source: FEMA · app text

A period of days when temperatures stay well above what is normal for the season. The temperature figures in Koruya are forecasts, not official heat warnings.

Source: WMO · app text

A plan everyone at home agrees on before an emergency: where you meet, whom you call first, who takes the go-bag and who helps whom. AFAD recommends such a plan for the first 72 hours after a disaster.

Source: AFAD · app text

A fracture in the Earth's crust along which two blocks of rock move past each other. Most earthquakes happen when stress built up on a fault is suddenly released.

Source: USGS

A fast-moving flood that develops within minutes or a few hours of heavy rain. Half of flash-flood deaths happen in vehicles: never drive along a road covered by water; turn around.

Source: AFAD · app text

Water covering land that is normally dry, caused by heavy rain, a stream or river overflowing, or drainage that cannot cope. Ankle-deep floodwater can sweep a person away, and knee-deep water can carry off a car.

Source: AFAD · app text

The focus (hypocentre) is where an earthquake starts underground; depth is how far that point is below the surface. Shallow earthquakes of the same magnitude are usually felt more strongly at the surface. Sources can correct the depth later, and Koruya shows the correction with its source.

Source: USGS · app text

The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, run by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It automatically estimates the likely impact of major disasters worldwide. Its alert levels are not reviewed by experts and are not official warnings.

Source: GDACS · app text

A bag prepared to cover urgent needs in the first hours after a disaster, until help arrives: water, long-lasting dry food, first-aid supplies, health records and medicines. Update your bag every 6 months.

Source: AFAD · app text

Very high body temperature; red, hot, dry skin; a fast, strong pulse, dizziness, confusion or unconsciousness. Call the emergency number at once, move the person to a cool, shaded place and cool them with cold wet cloths.

Source: FEMA · app text

The effect of shaking on people, buildings and surroundings at a particular place. An earthquake has one magnitude, but its intensity varies from place to place with distance and ground conditions.

Source: USGS · app text

Soil, rock and debris moving down a slope. Warning signs include new cracks in the ground, doors or windows that suddenly stick, and tilting trees, poles or fences.

Source: FEMA · app text

A single number for the energy released at an earthquake's source. The scale is logarithmic: one whole step up means roughly 32 times more energy. Koruya shows the magnitude exactly as the source gives it.

Source: USGS · app text

A place your family picks in advance to meet if you get separated. Choose one meeting place inside the home and one outside it. Planned points are not verified as safe during a disaster.

Source: AFAD · app text

A value computed from a weather or sea model. It is not an observed event, it can be wrong, and it does not stand in for an official warning.

Source: Koruya · app text

A scale that grades intensity in Roman numerals from I (not felt) to XII (total destruction). When the source gives a value, Koruya shows it in the “Intensity (MMI)” row.

Source: USGS · app text

NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker, a catalogue of natural events such as volcanoes, storms and fires tracked from satellites. Its records are catalogue entries, not official warnings.

Source: NASA · app text

A warning issued by a public authority. In Koruya, only records with this label are official warnings; measurement records, automatic alert systems, satellite detections and model estimates are labelled separately.

Source: Koruya · app text

Open map data built by volunteers (ODbL licence). In Koruya, the map, hospitals, pharmacies and assembly points come from this community data; it can be incomplete and is not official.

Source: OpenStreetMap · app text

A short code for a spot that works in map apps worldwide, even without a street address. Koruya shows the Plus Code next to your address and coordinates so you can read it out on an emergency call.

Source: Koruya · app text

The preparedness website of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It is one of the sources of Koruya's guides.

Source: FEMA

The Richter scale (local magnitude, ML), developed in the 1930s, was the first magnitude scale, and it underestimates large earthquakes. Today large earthquakes are usually given a moment magnitude (Mw), calculated from the area of the fault that slipped and how far it moved. That is why sources can give slightly different magnitudes for the same earthquake.

Source: USGS

What to do when a siren sounds or the authorities tell you to stay indoors because of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) incident: close windows and ventilation and move to an inner room.

Source: FEMA · app text

A storm with lightning and thunder that can bring strong wind, heavy rain and hail. When thunder roars, go indoors: into a building or a car with a roof.

Source: FEMA · app text

A rapidly rotating column of air reaching from a thunderstorm down to the ground. In a severe thunderstorm or high wind warning, go to an interior room or basement, away from windows.

Source: FEMA · app text

A series of waves made by water displaced by a strong undersea earthquake, a landslide or a volcanic eruption. Waves can keep coming for hours, and the first is often not the largest. At the coast, a strong or long earthquake, or the sea suddenly pulling back or rising, is your warning: do not wait for an official alert.

Source: AFAD; UNESCO-IOC · app text

The U.S. Geological Survey, which catalogues earthquakes worldwide. Koruya takes earthquakes of magnitude 1 and above within about 1000 km of you, and of magnitude 4.5 and above worldwide (last 7 days), from USGS.

Source: USGS · app text

An uncontrolled fire spreading through forest, scrub or grassland; wind can drive it very fast. Keep an area of at least 9 metres (30 feet) around your home free of leaves, debris and flammable materials.

Source: FEMA · app text