A year ago today a massive earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, leaving 185 dead and the lives of thousands in shambles. The country’s second-largest city was horrifically damaged, and to this day aftershocks and unstable buildings have caused large sections of the city to be rendered completely uninhabitable and unsafe. It is a major tragedy, and one which has sadly been too quickly forgotten by the international community.

But out of this darkness comes a light, as at least one publisher is taking action to support those affected by the earthquake. Polar Bear Farm founder Layton Duncan has penned a heartfelt letter on the company blog stating that all Polar Bear Farm apps are going on sale for today only, with 100 percent of the proceeds devoted to earthquake relief. The money will be funneled into a charitable trust with the sole purpose of restoring and rebuilding downtown Christchurch so that the city’s inhabitants can have their city back.

For those unfamiliar with Polar Bear Farms, they make a variety of neat utilitarian apps like Showtime, Face Match, Convert, and many more. For a full list of the company’s apps just pop them up in iTunes and have a look.

If you’re looking to pick up a few new apps this week and also want to do a little social good then this is your chance. Also, please spread the word to friends and loved ones so we can help the people of New Zealand and show them that even a year later they’re still on our minds. I mean, the apps are already on sale AND all the money is going to charity, what more reason can you possibly need to contribute?

Anytime I hear that there’s been a major earthquake, within seconds I’m on the United States Geological Survey’s website, looking for myself. This was the case last week when the powerful 9.0 magnitude quake hit Japan. I pulled out my iPhone and pulled up the site in Safari.

With Earthquake Lite for iPhone, though, the process of accessing the USGS’s data is made even faster and easier. The app allows you to see global seismic activity in a slick interface. You’re able to sort through lists of events filtered by location, magnitude and time. There’s also full Google Maps integration in the app, giving you a detailed map to get a better idea of the event’s location and surroundings.

Earthquake Lite provides all of this for free, but the pay version of the app (available for $2) also includes a feature that will notify you of any earthquakes 6.0 magnitude or larger.

You can download Earthquake Lite on the iTunes App Store.

FREE!

Earthquake Lite - International reporting, maps, & sharing of world earthquakes

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-06-04 :: Category: Weather

In case you haven’t heard due to all of the other news, a devastating earthquake hit Christchurch in New Zealand earlier this week. While the full toll of the quake will not be known for some time, it isn’t going to be good news. To help the victims and with the relief effort, developers have joined together to donate all of their proceeds for the week to the New Zealand Red Cross. If you are looking to pick up a few new apps, now would be a doubly great time to do so as the proceeds will go for a great cause.

Head on over now to the Christchurch Quake Appapeal and grab a new app or three, for a good cause.

Developers from across the App Store have pledged 100% of profits earned in the upcoming days to the Red Cross through AppRelief.com, a website built to pinpoint applications that have joined to help the crisis fund. Haiti, struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, is already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the damage caused by the earthquake is expected to cost over $1 billion (Bloomberg).

We encourage developers to join the fund, and consumers to purchase any of the applications listed, which currently includes: Running with Scissors, Charmed, bitFLIP, Skee-Ball, Amazing Tips and several others. Alternatively, donations can be made via the Red Cross website.

We are grateful for your support to App Relief and the Red Cross.