How we source

We read four kinds of source, in this order of trust:

1. Official monitoring feeds: the US Geological Survey for earthquakes, NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker, and the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. One of these is enough to confirm an event.
2. Open-source researchers on X and elsewhere: people and teams who geolocate footage and verify claims in public.
3. Newsrooms: international outlets and wire services.
4. Social media: first-hand posts. They tell us where to look. They never confirm an event on their own.

Every event on the map lists the reports behind it, and every story links its sources.

Send us a source

Seen footage, a post or a report we should know about? Send the link. A person reviews every submission before it is used, and nothing you send is published under your name unless you ask.