Join us! – CITIZEN SEISMOLOGY IN HAITI

There are several options for you to join our citizen-seismology effort:

Volunteer to host a Raspberry Shake seismometer:

As part of this project, some RaspberryShake seismometers are available for distribution to individuals who would volunteer to host them. This involves three conditions on your:

To be able to provide the most continuous electricity possible (consumption less that a cell phone in charge!).
To be able to provide the most continuous internet possible (data flow essentially invisible within your daily internet activities).
To be able to ensure the security of the seismometer (easy — the instrument is usually placed inside your home!).

Place the seismometer in a room, if possible in an area away from car/truck or human traffic — as these devices are very sensitive — and on the ground floor of your house (or basement, if you have one). If the electricity or internet is interrupted, no problem: the device will automatically start up again as soon as it reappears.

We will try to accommodate as many volunteers as possible, but our goodwill will necessarily be limited by the number of instruments we have in stock. If you have the possibility, don’t hesitate to buy and install a seismometer at home!

Buy a raspberryShake seismometer and install it at home:

This project uses Raspberry Shake seismometers assembled by the company OSOP in Panama. You can easily order them online and have them delivered to you by DHL or other carriers. We have no shares in these companies! It is quite possible that in the future other manufacturers will also occupy this niche of “seismology for all” – we will keep you informed!

For about $400 US you can order a Raspberry Shake seismometer in its simplest form. The seismometer is a small 10 cm square box that you connect to electricity and the internet. It consumes the equivalent of a mobile phone and produces a data stream that is barely noticeable to your internet connection.

It is very easy to install: a simple tutorial allows you to do it without any knowledge of seismology, computers or anything else. If you have any problems or questions, contact us!

Place it in a ground floor room (or even better in a basement!), if possible in an area away from air/truck or human traffic (as these devices are very sensitive). If the electricity or internet is interrupted, no problem: the device will automatically start up again as soon as it reappears.

Once the installation is complete, there are three things to do:

Check that your station is online on the map of RaspberryShake stations worldwide.
Inform us of your installation by contacting us so that your station is taken into account in the work of seismologists in Haiti.
Follow the evolution of seismicity in Haiti in real time, and the contribution of your seismometer, on our website Ayiti-Séismes directly, or through the “latest earthquakes” section above

Follow us on Facebook !

We have created a Facebook page dedicated to the OSMOSE project.
We regularly publish a variety of content (monthly seismic report, earthquake alert, “Seismo-citizen questions”, sharing articles related to seismology, etc.).

Feel free to like the page and follow us to stay informed about the project!

Become a member of the “Sismo@Ayiti” WhatsApp group:

We have set up a WhatsApp group to share comments, questions, and answers about how a Raspberry Shake seismometer works, about earthquakes in Haiti and beyond, or about any other earthquake and tsunami questions you may have. All other topics of conversation are banned from this group, of course. This group is reserved to (1) RS hosts, (2) scientists of the project, (3) selected participants from the civil society.

The groupe is quite active when an earthquake is felt by the population, but rather quiet otherwise. You will not be harassed by unwanted messages, but will learn about earthquakes and seismic risk. You can ask any question you want, there is always a scientist available to answer. It is also a good way for RS hosts to exchange information, including on technical issue such as the best internet access in Haiti!