Social media get quake reports out fast

Reporting from Eureka, Calif., and Los Angeles — The messages came in French and English in the minutes and hours after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12: "heavy earth quake right now!" "I see at a distance clouds of dust." "Hundreds of dead body in the collapse of Hotel Montana." "parts of the Palace have collapsed." "Phones seem to be out. . . . Communication is at a standstill."

Before authorities could begin to assess the damage, before reporters and aid workers could arrive on the scene, Twitter and other social media sites offered a quick portrait of the damage. With most of the area's power and phone lines down, a handful of Haitians used cellphones and some working Internet connections to report, in words and pictures, what they saw of the quake's devastation.

California authorities saw the same pattern in the minutes after a quake in Eureka earlier this month.

The ease with which their comments were transmitted around the world underscores the growing role that "self-reporting" plays in the immediate aftermath of catastrophes and how information technology has changed the way we think about disaster response.

Seismic safety experts remain somewhat skeptical about the accuracy of self-reported data. But the information is so valuable that seismologists are jumping on board.

The United States Geological Survey established the highly popular Did You Feel It? website to generate seismic intensity maps based on residents' reports of a temblor's intensity. And it's developing a program to track Twitter feeds in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.

Though there is no way to vouch for the accuracy of each data point, the speed with which officials and others can gather on-the-ground reports is revolutionary.

When a magnitude 6.7 quake hit Northridge early in the morning in 1994, it took authorities and the news media hours to spread out around Los Angeles to assess the situation. It wasn't until after daybreak that the full scope of the damage became clear.

By contrast, when the 6.5 quake hit Eureka this month, people were Twittering what they saw within seconds: "Glass everywhere." "Former Downtowner motel lost many bricks and structure is buckling." "Our pantry was shaken open and emptied."

Local officials said they got their first snapshot of the damage from social media, hours before authorities could comb the area and make a report.