Take the whole feed and be able to prove it

Download and retain a citation

The schema is calamity-export-2. Each snapshot records its acquisition timestamp, filters, matched record count and any truncation at the 10,000-record limit. An unavailable or stale feed returns an error.

Start with the manifest. Its artifact links include the snapshot identifier so all downloads refer to the same data. Save the manifest and files together: the service retains up to eight recent snapshots within a 96 MiB budget. A retired snapshot returns HTTP 410.

For a citation, record Calamity.live, the snapshot timestamp, snapshot identifier, artifact URL and SHA-256. No DOI has been assigned to these snapshots.

Integrity and public verification

The manifest contains an Ed25519 signature over its exact base64-encoded payload, a public JWK and each file’s SHA-256 and byte length. Decode the signed payload, verify the signature, then hash the downloaded artifact. ETags support conditional requests with If-None-Match.

Public verification key. Compare the embedded key with this endpoint when first downloading. The dedicated signing key is separate from account and push credentials. A signature attests to the integrity and provenance of this publication; it does not certify scientific accuracy or identify a downloader.

Rights depend on the original source

The aggregate has no blanket third-party redistribution licence. Exports include selected original USGS observation facts where the recorded source and identifier satisfy the documented policy; other records are limited to identifiers, source links and Calamity-derived metadata. Third-party text and graphics are excluded.

Machine-readable rights policy. Each record declares its redistribution class. Source attribution and exceptions remain part of the manifest.

{
  "usgs": {
    "mode": "selected_original_facts",
    "credit": "U.S. Geological Survey",
    "license": "US public domain: USGS-produced numerical observations only; no third-party text, graphics or photographs",
    "policy": "https://www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits"
  },
  "other": {
    "mode": "metadata_only",
    "license": "No redistribution licence asserted for third-party content; consult the linked primary source"
  },
  "calamity": {
    "mode": "derived_metadata",
    "license": "Calamity publication metadata and heuristic indices; no licence over third-party inputs is implied"
  }
}

Read the measurements correctly

• Coordinates, when distributed, use WGS84 longitude then latitude. Magnitude includes its recorded magnitude type; it is not a universal unit of disaster impact.
• The physical score, legacy score and news index carry different versions. Scores and cascade weights are heuristic indices, not calibrated probabilities.
• The urban exposure index is a distance-weighted urban proxy. It is separate from a population-grid estimate and is not a count of people injured or affected.
• Phenomenon time, feed snapshot time and artifact generation describe different events. Missing observations and coverage gaps do not establish zero hazard.

Model cards, formulas and limitations · Observed source coverage · Archive explorer

The archive bulk endpoint supplies historical metadata under its own returned schema and per-record rights. Its result is distinct from the current-feed signed snapshot above.