ParseForge
GDACS Disaster Alerts Scraper
parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper
AutomationIntegrationsNews & media
Scrapes GDACS disaster alerts by event type and minimum alert level. Returns each alert as a flat row with severity, country, coordinates, and event metadata.
- Total users
- 3
- Monthly active
- 0
- Total runs
- 87
- Bookmarked
- 0
- Rating
- Not rated yet
- Last modified
- 12 days ago
Overview
GDACS Disaster Alerts Scraper
Scrape GDACS disaster alerts for earthquakes, floods, cyclones, volcanoes, wildfires, and droughts. Every alert comes with its severity, event type, country, and coordinates. No API key. Export to JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML.
GDACS publishes a live feed of global disaster alerts, but there is no simple way to pull it into your own tools. This Actor reads the public GDACS feed directly, filters it by hazard type and alert level, and returns each event as a flat row. Use it for crisis monitoring, research, newsrooms, and automation. Not for official warnings.
| Who uses it | What they scrape GDACS for |
|---|---|
| Emergency managers | Monitor new alerts for their region and trigger internal notifications |
| Journalists | Track breaking disaster events for news coverage |
| Researchers | Build datasets of historical disaster alerts for analysis |
| Insurance analysts | Assess exposure to recent natural hazard events |
| Humanitarian organizations | Prioritize response based on alert severity and location |
What it does
This Actor collects GDACS disaster alerts by event type and minimum alert level, and returns each alert as a flat row with severity, country, coordinates, and event metadata.
- 🌍 Global coverage: all GDACS event types, including earthquakes, tropical cyclones, floods, volcanoes, wildfires, and droughts.
- 🎚️ Severity filtering: set a minimum alert level from Green to Red, or pull every alert regardless of severity.
- 📦 Flat output: each alert is returned as a single row, ready for spreadsheets, databases, or downstream APIs.
- 🔁 Scheduled runs: set the Actor on a schedule to keep your dataset updated with the latest alerts.
Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.
What you can do with GDACS data
🚨 Crisis monitoring dashboards.
An emergency operations center runs the Actor every 15 minutes for earthquakes at Orange level or above, and feeds new alerts into a live map for situational awareness.
📰 Newsroom alerting.
A news desk schedules the Actor for floods and cyclones, and uses the output to assign reporters to breaking disaster stories.
📊 Academic research datasets.
A researcher pulls all GDACS alerts from the past year, filters to volcanic events, and analyzes alert lead times by region.
🏥 Humanitarian response planning.
An NGO runs the Actor for Red-level alerts only, and uses the country and coordinates to pre-position supplies before a disaster strikes.
📉 Insurance portfolio monitoring.
An analyst pulls wildfire alerts for California and cross-references insured properties to estimate potential claims.
Why choose this scraper
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| No API key | Reads the public GDACS feed directly, no registration or token required |
| Filtered results | Only alerts matching your hazard type and severity reach your dataset |
| Structured data | Every alert is returned as a flat row with consistent fields |
| Export anywhere | Save results as JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML |
How it compares
Both actors scrape the same GDACS feed, but this one returns flat rows while the competitor returns GeoJSON.
| Feature | ParseForge | GDACS Disaster Alerts Scraper - GeoJSON & Filters |
|---|---|---|
| Flat row output | Yes | Not listed |
| GeoJSON output | Not listed | Yes |
| Filter by event type | Yes | Yes |
| Filter by alert level | Yes | Not listed |
| Maximum items limit | Yes, up to 1,000,000 for paid users | Not listed |
Configure the run
Drive the Actor with event type and minimum alert level filters. Leave both empty to pull the full live GDACS feed, or narrow to only earthquakes at Orange level or above. The Input tab lists every parameter.
A first run with the defaults:
{
"maxItems": 10
}
A larger pull:
{
"maxItems": 200
}
Pricing
Pay-per-result: $0.0085 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.
| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.85 |
| 1,000 results | $8.50 |
| 10,000 results | $85.00 |
New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.
Free users
Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.
Run it
- Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
- Open the GDACS Disaster Alerts Scraper.
- Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
- Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.
Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.
Use with AI agents (MCP)
Give an AI agent live access to GDACS through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper"
Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.
Troubleshooting
Why am I getting no results?
Check your filters. If you set a minimum alert level of Red, only Red alerts will be returned. Try setting it to 'Any' or lowering the level. Also make sure the event type you selected has recent alerts.
Why am I only getting 10 items?
Free users are limited to 10 items as a preview. Upgrade to a paid plan to increase the maximum number of alerts per run.
Can I get the raw GeoJSON instead of flat rows?
This Actor returns flat rows. If you need GeoJSON, use the other GDACS scraper on Apify, which returns GeoJSON format.
The alert data seems outdated.
GDACS updates its feed continuously. Run the Actor again to get the latest alerts. If you need real-time updates, schedule the Actor to run frequently.
How do I filter alerts for a specific country?
The Actor does not have a built-in country filter. After running, filter the output dataset by the country field in your spreadsheet or code.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is GDACS? | GDACS is the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, a cooperation framework under the United Nations. It provides near real-time alerts about natural disasters around the world. |
| Which disaster types does this Actor cover? | It covers all six GDACS event types: earthquakes (EQ), tropical cyclones (TC), floods (FL), volcanoes (VO), wildfires (WF), and droughts (DR). |
| Can I filter by alert level? | Yes. Set the minimum alert level to Green, Orange, or Red. Only events at or above that level will be returned. Leave it on 'Any' to include all levels. |
| Do I need a GDACS API key? | No. The Actor reads the public GDACS feed directly, so no registration or API key is required. |
| How many alerts can I get in one run? | Free users are limited to 10 items as a preview. Paid users can set a maximum of up to 1,000,000 alerts per run. |
| What format is the output? | Each alert is returned as a flat row with fields like event type, severity, country, coordinates, and event metadata. You can export the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML. |
| Can I schedule this Actor to run automatically? | Yes. You can set a schedule in Apify to run the Actor at regular intervals, such as every hour or every day, to keep your dataset updated. |
| Is this suitable for official emergency warnings? | No. GDACS alerts are for information and coordination purposes. Always refer to official national and local authorities for emergency warnings. |
| Can I filter by country or region? | The Actor does not have a direct country filter, but each alert includes the affected country and coordinates, so you can filter the output in your own code or spreadsheet. |
| What is the difference between this Actor and the other GDACS scraper on Apify? | The other GDACS scraper returns GeoJSON and offers similar filters. This Actor returns flat rows, which may be easier to work with in spreadsheets and databases. |
Related actors
Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.
🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.
⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.
Input
| Field | Type | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| eventTypes | array | Hazard types to include. Leave empty to return every event type. EQ = earthquake, TC = tropical cyclone, FL = flood, VO = volcano, WF = wildfire, DR = drought. | not set |
| alertLevel | string (4 options) | Only include events at or above this alert level. Green is the lowest severity, Red the highest. Leave on 'Any' to include all levels. | Any |
| maxItems | integer | Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000 | 10 |
Pricing
from $7.50 per 1,000 results
| Charged for | What it is | Price each |
|---|---|---|
| result | Single result in the default dataset. | $0.0075 to $0.0085 |
Tiered: the lower figure is the price on a higher Apify plan. Billing and the free credit live on Apify.
API
One POST returns the dataset directly. Same shape for every scraper in the library, so swapping the slug is the only change.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parseforge~gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"helloWorld": 123
}' Examples
Input that runs as-is.
{
"helloWorld": 123
} Reviews
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Issues
We build and maintain this scraper, so a problem with it comes to us. Report it on the Apify listing and the thread stays attached to the scraper where the next person can find it: open an issue.
Broken and urgent, or you would rather not post in public? Write to parseforge@protonmail.com and it reaches the people who wrote it.