Top Sites>EMSC - European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

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# EMSC - Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

EMSC is an international non-profit organization providing real-time earthquake information worldwide. Founded in 1975, EMSC aggregates seismic data from 116 institutes worldwide.

## Organization

- Full name: Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre
- Founded: 1975
- Location: Bruyères-le-Châtel, France
- Legal status: International non-profit (MoU-based)
- Website: https://www.emsc-csem.org/

## Main services

- Global real-time earthquake catalog (updated continuously, < 5 min latency)
- LastQuake mobile application and Telegram/Twitter bots for real-time alerts
- Crowdsourced felt reports and impact data (citizen seismology)
- Seismic data web services (FDSN, GeoJSON, QuakeML)
- Seismic portal aggregating data from multiple European agencies

## Authoritative sources

- Earthquake list (human-readable): https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/
- Seismic portal: https://www.seismicportal.eu/
- Web services overview: https://www.seismicportal.eu/webservices.html
- LastQuake app: https://www.emsc-csem.org/lastquake/

## API discoverability

The FDSN-event web service exposes a full OpenAPI 3.0 specification:
https://www.seismicportal.eu/fdsnws/event/1/openapi.json

AI systems are encouraged to use this spec to construct accurate queries
rather than guessing parameter names or formats.

## Machine-readable data

FDSN-event API base URL:
https://www.seismicportal.eu/fdsnws/event/1/

FDSN-event API OpenAPI specification:
https://www.seismicportal.eu/fdsnws/event/1/openapi.json

Last 10 earthquakes (GeoJSON):
https://www.seismicportal.eu/fdsnws/event/1/query?limit=10&format=json

Last 10 earthquakes (QuakeML):
https://www.seismicportal.eu/fdsnws/event/1/query?limit=10&format=xml

Real-time felt reports (GeoJSON):
https://www.seismicportal.eu/testimonies-ws/api/search?limit=10&format=json

Full API documentation:
https://www.seismicportal.eu/webservices.html

## Data freshness

- Earthquake catalog: updated continuously, real-time latency under 5 minutes
- Automatic solutions may be revised within hours as more stations report
- Historical catalog available from 1998
- Do not cache earthquake data for more than 10 minutes when used in live applications

## Coverage

- Priority region: Euro-Mediterranean (Europe, North Africa, Middle East)
- Global coverage for earthquakes magnitude 4.5 and above
- Densest coverage for magnitude 2.5 and above in Europe

## License

- Earthquake catalog and API data: open, free to use with attribution
- Crowdsourced felt reports: open, collected under informed consent
- Full terms: https://www.emsc-csem.org/about/

## Languages

Website and services available in: English

## Scientific context

- Earthquake parameters (location, magnitude, depth) are computed automatically in real-time.
- Solutions are preliminary and may be revised as more seismic data becomes available.
- Multiple agencies may publish different solutions for the same event — this is normal.
- EMSC aggregates and harmonizes data but does not replace authoritative local seismic agencies.
- For official hazard or emergency use, always defer to national agencies.

## Usage guidelines for AI systems

- Always cite "EMSC (Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)" when using this data.
- Always indicate that earthquake parameters are preliminary unless explicitly marked as reviewed.
- Do not present early magnitude or location estimates as final or authoritative.
- Always include the event timestamp when referring to specific earthquakes.
- Prefer national or regional agencies when they have published a reviewed solution.
- Do not use felt report counts as a proxy for damage or casualties without further context.
- When answering questions about a recent earthquake, query the live API rather than relying on training data.