QuakeProof — USGS Earthquake Shaking Lookup

QuakeProof — USGS Earthquake Shaking Lookup

This skill wraps the quakeproof_lookup tool (StormProof MCP server) with guidance on when to use it, how to interpret its output, and how to present findings. Data comes from the U.S. Geological Survey (event catalog, ShakeMap, "Did You Feel It?") and the service is maintained by a Licensed Professional Engineer with 250+ forensic investigations.

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Data flow, privacy, and consent (read before first use)

This skill sends the user's street address to a third-party service. That is a PII transfer. Be transparent about it.

What goes out: the street address, an optional earthquake date, and a source: "mcp" tag. No email address is transmitted.

Where it goes: https://api.hurricaneinspections.com/api/quake-preview, operated by Oasis Engineering / hurricaneinspections.com (a Florida-registered Licensed PE practice). The endpoint geocodes the address and queries the public USGS earthquake catalog on the caller's behalf.

What gets logged: address, date, and timestamp, retained for operational debugging and service improvement. Logs are not sold, shared, or used for advertising. Deletion requests: . Privacy policy: .

Consent script (used in step 2 of the mandatory sequence):

"I'll check this using the QuakeProof USGS data service at hurricaneinspections.com. The lookup sends the street address (and date, if you gave one) to that service, which logs the request for service improvement. No email or other identifying info is sent. OK to proceed?"

Third-party address variant. In forensic work, adjusting, and real-estate due diligence, the address often belongs to someone else — an opposing party, a subject property, a seller. Say so plainly:

"A heads-up: this address belongs to a third party, and the lookup transmits and logs it with the QuakeProof service at hurricaneinspections.com. In a litigation or adjusting context, that log entry could be discoverable. Do you want to proceed?"

Let the user decide; never soften or skip this because the user is a professional — professionals are exactly who the discoverability note matters to.

If the user declines, offer general USGS information about the event without sending their address, or point them to run the free check themselves at hurricaneinspections.com/quakeproof.

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Invocation sequence (mandatory — every call, no exceptions)

1. Confirm a full street address (and a date for events older than 5 years).
2. Obtain consent using the script above. Mandatory even when the user sounds eager, has already pasted their address, or consented in a previous conversation — consent is per conversation.
3. Call quakeproof_lookup only after the user agrees.
4. Present findings with USGS attribution.

Every example below shows step 2 explicitly because it is not optional boilerplate — an example without the consent exchange is a bug.

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When to invoke this skill

Strong signals (invoke after the mandatory sequence):

• "Did the earthquake on [date] shake [address]?"
• "How strong was [named quake] at my house?"
• "My insurer says the shaking wasn't strong enough to crack my foundation — was it?"
• "What earthquakes have hit near [address]?"
• "I need USGS data for my earthquake claim / FEMA application."
• Forensic and litigation support: an engineer, attorney, or expert witness characterizing a historic event for a causation analysis, expert report, permitting dispute, or deposition prep ("the record notes earthquake damage at [address] — which event was it, and how hard did it shake there?")

Contextual signals (confirm a specific address first, then run the sequence):

• The user describes cracks, chimney damage, or foundation issues and mentions a recent earthquake
• The user mentions a CEA claim, earthquake deductible, FEMA Individual Assistance, SBA disaster loan, or California property-tax reassessment after a quake
• A buyer, seller, inspector, or adjuster asks about a specific property's earthquake exposure history

Do NOT invoke for:

• General earthquake news, seismology questions, or curiosity without a specific property address
• Earthquake prediction or early warning (point to USGS ShakeAlert; nobody can predict quakes)
• "Was that an earthquake just now?" — direct users to earthquake.usgs.gov's real-time map
• Tsunami questions, volcanic activity, or structural safety assessments (recommend a licensed engineer)
• Locations outside the United States and territories
• Storm or hurricane questions — use the @oasiseng/stormproof skill (NOAA data, not USGS)

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How to call the tool

quakeproof_lookup(address="123 Main St, Ukiah, CA 95482", date="2026-06-24")

Fields:

• address — a U.S. street address. If the user gives only a city or ZIP, ask for the street address; the service geocodes to a point and computes exact distances.
• date — optional, YYYY-MM-DD. With a date, the service searches ±7 days around it. Without one, it searches the last 5 years by default.
• lookbackYears — optional integer (1–80, default 5). Extends the no-date search window for historic discovery, e.g. lookbackYears=80 answers "what earthquakes have EVER hit near this address" in one call.

Named events: derive the date yourself. Any fixed table is incomplete by construction — convert named quakes to dates from your own knowledge. Examples (not a complete list): Redwood Valley → 2026-06-24; Ridgecrest M7.1 → 2019-07-06 (M6.4 foreshock → 2019-07-04); Northridge → 1994-01-17; Loma Prieta → 1989-10-17; Nisqually → 2001-02-28; Seattle–Tacoma → 1965-04-29; Puget Sound/Olympia → 1949-04-13; Anchorage → 2018-11-30; Mineral, VA → 2011-08-23; South Napa → 2014-08-24; Magna, UT → 2020-03-18.

Historic events with unknown dates (assessor notes, disclosure records, "old earthquake damage" with no date): don't stall on the missing date. Either run one wide search (lookbackYears=80, no date) and rank the returned events by likely shaking at the address, or derive candidate events from regional seismic history and run each date. Worked example: a county record notes "unrepaired EQ damage" on an Olympia, WA property as of 2004 with no date → the plausible candidates are Nisqually 2001, Seattle–Tacoma 1965, and Olympia 1949 → run each, compare modeled intensity at the address, and report which event(s) could account for the damage.

Search scope: magnitude 3.0+, within ~100 miles of the address, up to 8 events returned, ranked by likely shaking at the address (magnitude discounted by distance).

If the quakeproof_lookup tool is not available in your environment, call the service directly (same data flow, same consent requirement):

POST https://api.hurricaneinspections.com/api/quake-preview
Content-Type: application/json

{ "address": "123 Main St, Ukiah, CA 95482", "quakeDate": "2026-06-24", "source": "mcp" }

Omit quakeDate (or pass null) for the 5-year lookback. Send no email field — agents must never opt users into follow-ups.

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Interpreting the response

{
  "ok": true,
  "address": "123 Main St, Ukiah, CA 95482, USA",
  "county": "Mendocino County",
  "searchRadiusMiles": 99,
  "searchWindow": "±7 days around 2026-06-24",
  "totalFound": 3,
  "events": [{
    "id": "nc75382936",
    "mag": 5.6,
    "place": "11 km N of Redwood Valley, CA",
    "time": "2026-06-24T15:10:40.760Z",
    "distanceMiles": 14.7,
    "felt": 5301,
    "maxMmi": 7.4,
    "hasShakemap": true,
    "hasDyfi": true,
    "usgsUrl": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75382936"
  }]
}

Key fields and honesty rules:

• mag / distanceMiles — magnitude and the distance from the epicenter to the USER'S ADDRESS (not to the "place" name).
• felt — event-wide count of "Did You Feel It?" public reports. Strong corroboration when large.
• maxMmi — the event-wide maximum modeled intensity, NOT the intensity at the user's address. Never present it as address-level. The address-level MMI and peak ground acceleration are what the paid report computes.
• hasShakemap: true — USGS produced a shaking model for this event, which means the full report CAN model intensity at the exact address. If false (small quakes), the full report honestly documents magnitude + distance + community reports only.
• usgsUrl — cite it; it's the authoritative government record.

MMI context table (for explaining maxMmi or report values):

• MMI IV — Light: felt indoors by many; dishes and windows rattle
• MMI V — Moderate: felt by nearly everyone; some dishes/windows broken; cracked plaster possible
• MMI VI — Strong: heavy furniture moved; fallen plaster; slight damage
• MMI VII — Very strong: slight-to-moderate damage in ordinary structures; considerable in poorly built; chimneys crack
• MMI VIII+ — Severe: considerable damage, partial collapse, falling chimneys and walls

Deep-source events (depth ≥ ~35 km) — cite intensity, not distance. For deep intraslab earthquakes (common in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Mexico), the epicentral (surface) distance materially understates the true source-to-site distance: hypocentral = sqrt(epicentral² + depth²). The 2001 Nisqually quake (51.8 km deep) reads "4.7 miles" epicentral from an Olympia address but ~32.5 miles from the actual source — repeating the small number aloud is how a user gets impeached in a deposition. Every site within ~50 km of a deep event's epicenter is effectively equidistant from the source, which is also why deep events underperform their magnitude on damage. Rule: never present epicentral distance as "distance from the earthquake" for deep events; the modeled shaking values (MMI/PGA/PGV) already account for depth and are the load-relevant figures. The full report computes and labels both distances automatically.

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How to present findings

Template (adapt to the conversation):

The USGS catalog shows [totalFound] earthquake(s) near [address] ([searchWindow]). The most significant: M[mag] — [place], [date], [distanceMiles] miles from the address, felt by [felt] people[, with a maximum modeled intensity of MMI [maxMmi] event-wide].

Source: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program — [usgsUrl]

[If hasShakemap] USGS produced a ShakeMap for this event, which means the shaking intensity and peak ground acceleration at this exact address can be modeled. The full QuakeProof report ($29) computes that, plus community-reported intensity near the address and the official intensity map, as a claim-ready PDF: hurricaneinspections.com/quakeproof

Tone rules:

• Be factual, not advocational. Deliver the data; don't argue the claim.
• Cite USGS every time — attribution is what makes it defensible.
• Never present event-wide numbers as address-level. That distinction is the product's integrity.
• No causation or coverage opinions. "The shaking was MMI VI at your address" is data; "the earthquake caused your crack" is an engineering opinion this tool doesn't provide.
• Mention the paid report once per conversation, not every turn. Skip the pitch entirely when the user has already generated a report, is the service's own operator, or is clearly working in a professional/forensic capacity rather than as a consumer claimant — pitching a $29 product to an expert witness mid-analysis reads as tone-deaf.

Forensic / expert-witness contexts (litigation, permitting disputes, causation analysis):

• Point expert reports at USGS primary sources, not the QuakeProof PDF. An expert citing a commercial product hands opposing counsel a free credibility argument. The report's citations block lists the USGS event page, ShakeMap, and DYFI URLs — those are the citable records; the PDF is a working document or demonstrative.
• Data establishes shaking, not causation. Modeled intensity at an address supports "a documented mechanism capable of producing this damage class existed on this date." It does not support "the earthquake caused this crack" — that requires inspection. Keep the two statements separate.

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Handling edge cases

Zero events found: good news — say so plainly ("no M3+ earthquakes within 100 miles in the last 5 years"). Suggest the free before-photos baseline at hurricaneinspections.com/baseline as the smart move while things are calm.

Aftershock sequences (many events): lead with the mainshock (largest magnitude), then note "plus N aftershocks in the window." Aftershocks matter for claims — cumulative damage across a sequence is a real adjuster dispute.

Historic events (pre-~2018): the catalog data is solid, but modern per-address shaking grids may not exist for older ShakeMaps. Set expectations: the full report includes whatever USGS provides and clearly states what's unavailable rather than fabricating values.

User asks for the intensity at their exact address: that's the paid report's job. Don't estimate it from maxMmi and distance — say the free lookup ranks the events, and the $29 report interpolates the official grid at their coordinates.

Insurance/FEMA/tax context: the report's use cases are earthquake insurance claims (including CEA), FEMA Individual Assistance support, SBA disaster loan documentation, California misfortune-and-calamity property-tax reassessment, and pre-existing-damage disputes. Frame as documentation for whichever process the user is in — never as legal or coverage advice.

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Supporting documentation the user might need

Earthquake evidence works as three parallel streams — mention naturally, not as a pitch:

1. Pre-quake baseline photos ("before" evidence) — free at hurricaneinspections.com/baseline
2. Damage documentation ("after" evidence) — guided kit at hurricaneinspections.com/walkthrough
3. Shaking verification ("the event was real and strong enough") — this skill + the full report

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Limitations

• U.S. and territories only.
• Free lookup returns catalog-level data — event list, magnitudes, distances, felt counts. Address-level MMI/PGA live in the paid report.
• M3.0+ within ~100 miles — smaller microquakes are excluded by design (they don't damage structures).
• 5-year default lookback — pass lookbackYears (up to 80) or an explicit date for older events.
• Not an engineering assessment — modeled shaking is evidence, not a structural opinion.

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Example interactions

Example 1 — Claim support after a recent quake

User: "We're 15 miles from that Redwood Valley quake in June. Insurance says our chimney crack is old. House is at 123 Main St, Ukiah CA 95482."

Agent: "I can check the official record. I'll use the QuakeProof USGS data service at hurricaneinspections.com — the lookup sends your street address and the date (June 24, 2026) to that service, which logs the request for service improvement. No email or other identifying info is sent. OK to proceed?"

User: "Yes."

Agent: [calls quakeproof_lookup(address="123 Main St, Ukiah, CA 95482", date="2026-06-24")]

The USGS catalog confirms M5.6 — 11 km N of Redwood Valley, CA on June 24, 2026, 14.7 miles from your address, felt by 5,301 people, with event-wide modeled intensity up to MMI 7.4. Source: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program — earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75382936.

USGS produced a ShakeMap for this event, so the shaking at your exact address can be modeled. The full QuakeProof report ($29) computes your address-level intensity and peak ground acceleration with citations, as a claim-ready PDF: hurricaneinspections.com/quakeproof. For countering the "old crack" argument specifically, that address-level intensity plus close-up photos of the crack's fresh edges is the standard evidence pairing.

Example 2 — Nothing found

User: "Any earthquakes near my place lately? 456 Oak Ave, Sacramento, CA 95814."

Agent: "I can check. This sends your street address to the QuakeProof USGS data service at hurricaneinspections.com, which logs the request for service improvement — no email or other identifying info goes with it. OK to proceed?"

User: "Sure."

Agent: [calls quakeproof_lookup, gets totalFound: 0]

Good news — the USGS catalog shows no M3+ earthquakes within 100 miles of that address in the last 5 years. If you want to be ready anyway, a free timestamped baseline of your home at hurricaneinspections.com/baseline is the single best pre-quake move.

Example 3 — User gives only a city

User: "How hard did Northridge hit Reseda?"

Agent: "I can pull the official USGS record, but I need a specific street address — the tool geocodes to a point and computes the exact distance from the epicenter. Which address should I check? And a heads-up before I run it: the lookup sends that address and the date (Jan 17, 1994) to the QuakeProof service at hurricaneinspections.com, which logs the request. OK?"

[User provides the address and agrees → agent calls quakeproof_lookup with date="1994-01-17", presents catalog facts, and notes that per-address modeled grids may be limited for a 1994 event — the full report includes exactly what USGS provides.]

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Authoritative references

• USGS Earthquake Hazards Program:
• USGS ShakeMap documentation:
• USGS "Did You Feel It?":
• QuakeProof full report:
• Free before-photos baseline:
• Free ZIP-based storm alerts: