Earthquakes
Recent seismic events recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
GeoFix Safety
Know more about what lies around your route.
Before you set off or while you explore, GeoFix Safety helps you check the information available about the area around a location, a waypoint or a route: earthquakes, floods, wildfires and thermal detections reported by specialised sources.
Included in GeoFix for iPhone, in the free version too · A connection is needed to consult the sources
What you can check
The territory changes, your route stays at the centre: Safety always starts from something you already have in GeoFix.
Where you are
From the map, the context of the area you are in right now.
A waypoint
From the waypoint's page, the area around that point.
A track
From the track's page, the territory the route crosses.
A collection
From the map, the area covered by the waypoints and tracks of the collection you are viewing.
For waypoints, tracks and collections GeoFix also uses your current location, to decide how wide the area to consult should be.
What GeoFix Safety looks at
Four kinds of information, each from the specialised source that publishes it.
Floods
Ongoing flood events reported by GDACS, the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System.
Wildfires
Ongoing wildfires reported by GDACS, with the affected area when the source publishes it.
Satellite thermal detections
Heat anomalies detected by satellites and published by NASA FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System). They can point to a fire, but not always.
For each item the app shows the source, when it was observed and its distance from the element you chose, with no risk scores. GeoFix organises and presents data published by these services: it does not produce them, does not check them on the ground and is not affiliated with the organisations that publish them. Each source has its own update times, coverage and precision.
How it works
Choose what to check
Your location, a waypoint, a track or a collection.
GeoFix works out the area
It calculates it on your phone, starting from the element you chose.
See the picture
GeoFix queries the sources and shows you the information that concerns that area.
Safety needs a network connection to consult the sources. Without one, the app shows you the last picture acquired for that element, if there is one, with its date. GPS, recording, track navigation and maps you have already downloaded keep working offline as usual.
Safety and your privacy
Waypoints, tracks and collections stay on your device and are not uploaded to GeoFix servers. When you start a check, GeoFix works out the area on your phone: the names of your items and the detailed path of your routes are not part of the request.
- Earthquakes (USGS)
The device queries USGS directly using the geographic area to analyse. When the analysis concerns your current location or a single waypoint, that area is centred on the selected point. - Satellite thermal detections (NASA FIRMS)
The device only sends the GeoFix infrastructure geographic cells half a degree wide, not precise coordinates; the GeoFix infrastructure then queries NASA FIRMS for those cells. - Floods and wildfires (GDACS)
The GeoFix infrastructure regularly collects and updates GDACS public data; your check looks up, with the same aggregated cells, the information already collected. If the infrastructure cannot be reached, the app may query GDACS directly, without sending it your location or the area of your check. - No account
Access to the GeoFix infrastructure is protected with Apple App Attest, which checks that the app is genuine.
What Safety means
GeoFix Safety is an information tool: it helps you understand the context of the territory, it does not assess risk and it does not tell you whether a place or a route is safe.
If no information appears, it does not mean there are no hazards: the sources consulted report nothing for that area. Likewise, an event that is shown does not in itself make a route impassable or dangerous.
Availability, updates, precision and coverage depend on the sources. Safety does not replace official alerts, instructions from the authorities, your own assessment of conditions on the ground or emergency services.
Take GeoFix Safety on your next route.
Check the territory around your location, your waypoints and your tracks, and make your own decisions with more information.
Download GeoFix on the App Store