Internet Seismometer Shows Huge Spike in Traffic from August 2011 Virginia Earthquake

"Internet Seismometer" (http://www.comscore.com/InternetSeismometer) is an animated look at U.S. Internet use by minute in the U.S. between the hours of 1:40pm and 3pm yesterday -- for computer vs mobile-based traffic.

Video by @DanPiech
http://www.comscore.com/InternetSeismometer

1:40 -- 1:51pm: Business as usual.

1:51pm: There is a sudden and precipitous drop in computer traffic in the two regions closest to the epicenter at the time of the quake likely from individuals in office buildings being evacuated.

1:51 -- 2:00pm: Computer traffic stays low in regions where individuals are most acutely aware of the quake due to proximity but do not have computer access. Meanwhile, other regions have yet to receive word. Mobile traffic spikes during this period, however -- increasing in direct relationship to distance from the epicenter: 62% increase for those within 100km, 35% for those within 100 and 500km, and only 7% for those greater than 500km. There is a slight decline in mobile traffic in regions less than close to the quake, prior to this jump

2:00 -- 2:10pm: Computer traffic spikes back up as employees in local regions flock back into buildings deemed structurally sound and log on. As expected, computer traffic increases slower in regions further from the quake. Mobile traffic continues to rise across all regions. Peak traffic rates are observed for all devices: PC traffic is up to 22% higher than expected weekday mid afternoon volumes and Mobile phone is up to 28% higher.

2:10 -- 2:20pm: Mobile traffic declines, especially in regions less than 500km from the epicenter as individuals finish making their emergency calls to loved ones. PC traffic drops slightly but remains significantly high as traffic to social networking sites explodes.
• 2:20 -- 2:30pm: Mobile traffic levels off at rates 10% higher than pre-quake volumes. Computer traffic continues a slow decline.

2:30 -- 3:00pm: Computer and mobile traffic both decrease in all regions, with regions closer to the quake experiencing faster drops as they fall back towards being in-line with other regions. Traffic, on the whole, still remains significantly higher than pre-quake volumes.

3:00 -- 4:00pm: Computer and mobile traffic hold steady at increased levels, with regions closer to the quake having predictably higher usage.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• internet
• seismometer
• earthquake
• virginia
• traffic
• use
• mobile
• data
• stats
• statistics
• phones
• web
• online