EARTHQUAKE MONITOR BOARD
A live earthquake monitor that lists recent seismic events — magnitude and place — from the USGS all-day GeoJSON feed on an 11x44 split-flap grid. Newsrooms, geology classrooms, and data-curious offices run it as a real-time wall display with the source credited on the board. The repeater widget shows four events at a time in orange.
- 01Live earthquake monitor
- 02USGS data display
- 03Public JSON repeater widget
- 04Geology classroom display
- 05Newsroom data wall
How does the board get earthquake data?
A repeater widget queries the public USGS all-day GeoJSON feed, walks the features array with a JSONPath, and formats each event as magnitude plus place. When the feed updates, the flaps roll to the new events in under a second.
Can I point it at a different feed or region?
Yes. Swap the URL for another USGS feed — hourly, weekly, or magnitude-filtered — or any JSON API, then adjust the JSONPath and the {properties.mag} {properties.place} template to match the new fields. The four-row window and colors are editable too.
Do I need a specific plan for the live feed?
Live JSON and API data sources are a Business-plan feature. On other plans the board shows the editable sample events, so you can design and demo the layout first and upgrade when you want the real-time USGS feed flowing.
Why 11x44, and can I change it?
The wide 44-column grid leaves room for long place names in the USGS feed. You can resize rows and columns for your TV — just keep enough width for places to stay readable, and adjust the repeater's row count if you shrink the grid.