Tweets from micro-blogging phenomenon Twitter are being used by the US Geological Survey (USGS) to get instant public reaction to earthquakes.

In a report today on BBC News, the agency revealed how they are trawling peoples tweets to find out what people felt during a tremor – whether there was a lot of shaking in their area or not.
There are big spikes in Twitter traffic immediately following a quake and the USGS believes emergency responders might find the information useful.

“It is a speed versus accuracy issue,” explained Dr Paul Earle.

“Twitter messages start coming out in the seconds after an earthquake whereas, depending of the region, scientifically derived information can take 2-20 minutes”.