# GDACS Disaster Alerts Scraper (`parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper`) Actor

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.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Integrations, News
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $7.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### 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:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "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](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [GDACS Disaster Alerts Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) 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:

```bash
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](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) 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.

# Actor input Schema

## `eventTypes` (type: `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.

## `alertLevel` (type: `string`):

Only include events at or above this alert level. Green is the lowest severity, Red the highest. Leave on 'Any' to include all levels.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "alertLevel": "Any",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/gdacs-disaster-alerts-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/YpM2BwGbANDvEckCc/builds/6HlePlhoEuJqewDbD/openapi.json