social networking

My deepest sympathies go to those who have been affected by the earthquake in Chile and who have lost loved ones.

This screen image above is a link to an excellent site by the US Geological Survey with up to the hour information on recent earthquakes around the world as well as a lot of additional information such as magnitude, seismogram displays, animations etc...

I woke this morning to receive a number of text messages warning of the imminent tsunami due to hit the east coast of New Zealand. A short time later sirens were sounded along the beach and helicopers could be seen flying overhead, I assume with Civil Defence personel calling out warnings to people on and near the waterfront.  Thanks to CNN news reports on Sky TV, the comprehensive radio updates on ZB FM and of course social networking via Skype, Twitter (using the hashback #tsunami), numerous RSS feeds and Facebook I was kept up to date with the devastation in Chile and possible threat of a tsunami here in NZ. 

I have been watching the movement and height of the tsunami on the east coast of NZ at Geonet where there is a graph illustrating the relative sea height, without question the Chatham Islands and East Cape appear to have been affected the most.

Recommended elevation if there is a risk of a tsunami is 25 meters above sea level.  While picking up reports on the earthquake in Chile and the tsunami's in Hawaii, I made sure to be above 25 meters with the aid of this superb program called Memory Map navigation software.

Memory map is an absolute must for all Geography teachers, outdoor ed instructors and teachers involved in taking students hiking in the outdoors because of their involvement with programs such as the Duke of Edinburgh program aka The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award.

Let me run you through it....

From the list of maps of both the North and South islands of New Zealand I have zoomed in on the Hauraki Gulf, the harbour that surrounds Auckland City aka "The City of Sails."

 

and zooming in on the stunning cone shaped Rangitoto island which is a dormant volcano.  I have clicked the elevation profile which provides a clear visual image of the elevation along the route that I have selected from the wharf to summit.

  

A route card can be printed showing estimated speed settings can be adjusted to allow for the ability of the group taking this track and as a result estimated time to complete the journey is calculated by the program.  Compass bearing, latitude and longitude are shown, a GPS can also be used with the program.

 

 and there's more...the map can be viewed in 3D, played, rotated etc

 

I have found Memory Map to be incredibly useful as a resource to prepare students for trips to the outdoors so that they can prepared themselves mentally as to the actual gradient of the walk/run/cycle ahead of them.  The estimated timing are very useful for parents or contact persons back at base to have. No doubt Geography teachers can think of 101 uses for this program in their classrooms.

A considerable number of animations and resources regarding earthquakes and tsunami's have been brought to people's attention as a result of the recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti.  Click here at some of the animations I've saved (not all are referenced to their original source) and see my delicious pages for specific url's.

As of 15:00 EST (GMT & 12 hours) the tsunami warning is still in place on the east coast of New Zealand but has been downgraded to advisory.  Civil Defence New Zealand advise those in coastal areas to:

1. Stay off beaches
2. Stay out of the water (sea, rivers and estuaries, including boating activities)
3. Do not go sightseeing
4. Share this information with family, neighbours and friends
5. Listen to the radio and/or TV for updates
6. Follow instructions of your local Civil Defence authorities.

The death toll in Chile currently stands at 214, up to 2 million people have been affected.  At 8.8 on the Richter scale this earthquake is claimed to be the largest every recorded and the first since 1964 to result in a Pacific wide tsunami alert.

Because of social networking, the sharing of resources and information via the internet students learning has become and will continue to be creative, collaborative and lifelong.

Thanks to the power of social networking the death toll is Chile and around the Pacific was far less than it could have been.