The PHIVOLCS FaultFinder

Joel Bandibas

About this app

The PHIVOLCS FaultFinder mobile app shows information about the distance between the user's current location, address or selected location on the map and the nearest active fault. This app needs internet connection to access the web-based active fault database of PHIVOLCS and the necessary web services. The database provides the backend source of information for the Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Processing Service (WPS) used for displaying the active fault map and querying fault trace locations, respectively. This app uses three base maps, the Philippine Geoportal Map, Google Maps and the OpenStreetMap, which are served as web services provided by the data owners. The Philippine Geoportal Map is provided by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) of the Philippines. This app is a classic Web-based Geographic Information System (WebGIS) following the Spatial Data Infrastructure model. The FaultFinder app is the product of the joint collaboration between the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Department of Science and Technolog (DOST), Philippines and Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan. Dr. Renato Solidum, director of PHIVOLCS, initiated the idea of developing the app. The FaultFinder app was developed by Dr. Joel C. Bandibas of GSJ with the cooperation of the research and development personnel of PHIVOLCS.

Ratings and reviews

I thought it doesn't work as it wouldnt load anything upon installation but I am one of the few who believes that patience is a virtue so I waited for a couple of minutes and, lo and behold, it worked. Was able to pinpoint the location of the nearest active fault line to my place, thank you very much. The app also isn't as slow as other reviews may have you think, or maybe it is slow, mahaba lang siguro talaga ang pasensya ko. Anyway, bottomline is the app works and that's all that matters to me.

Too hard to determine my exact location, since I can't really rely on my phone's gps to be accurate all the time and wala masyadong landmarks or markings yung map sa province area namin. It would be good if they'll give the exact coordinates upon clicking sa map too. Possible naman to siguro since I think they're using arcgis naman. Wouldn't really rely on a search bar kasi di rin lumalabas street sa arcgis website eh click to view coordinates sana. Sana idevelop pa, marami pa pwedeng improve.

It gives an information about how far are you located near the fault line as factual as it seems. A recommendation I could give is to add an educational service like a drop-down section where students can learn and practice anything related to the science behind earthquakes and fault lines, that could be a daily trivias, question and answer section, and fun device activities where even children at a younger age can access & enjoy. Thanks for this app!