Track record
As geotracking technology on our smartphones becomes ever more sophisticated, we re just beginning to grasps its capabilities (and possible pitfalls)
Illustrations: Anthony Tremmaglia
April 9, 2021
At 11:39 P.M. on the night of December 30, 2015, about 51 kilometers below the surface of the Haro Strait between Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands, the Juan de Fuca plate slipped. The response, in bedrooms up and down the coast of British Columbia’s mainland and island communities, was quintessentially modern: people reached for their phones. Within two minutes, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, maker of the LastQuake app, was already receiving eyewitness reports. From Victoria, 18 kilometres from the epicentre: “Like something rolled through the house.” From Delta, 60 kilometres away: “Sudden, hard jerk, but short.” From New Westminster, 74 kilometres away: “We were awoken by rattling.”