Google says it has updated its Android earthquake warning system after failing to deliver millions of people to millions of people during the devastating earthquake in Turkey in 2023. This system, which transforms Android phones into “mini earthquakes”, is designed to detect the earthquake near Google, and people have been designed to advance warnings before nearest seconds.
Google told the BBC, but when two major earthquakes in southern Turkey and Syria were attacked in February 2023, the alerts system did not send “action tech” notifications in the region, Google told the BBC. Instead, Android users have not found the lower -level “familiar” information or anything. Google did not immediately respond to the request for further comment.
The 2023 earthquake was the deadliest in the modern history of the region, killing more than 50,000 people and displacing millions. More than 70 % of phones in Turkey use the company’s Android operating system. Apple’s competitive iOS software does not compare the earthquake comparative warning, which relies on government warnings.
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How Google is modifying in its alert system
In an article published by the Journal of Science earlier this month, Google said that “the limits of detection algorithm” were found during the event. According to the company, the system understood the severity of earthquakes and failed to mobilize advanced warnings that ask people to immediately cover.
Google says it has improved the detection algorithm since then and has launched the first Turkish earthquake with better results of the response results.
How Google’s Alert System works
Android’s earthquake warning systems are available in more than 90 countries and uses small vibrations selected by the phone’s Excelrometer to accelerate earthquake activity than traditional monitoring stations. When coffee phones detect the shaking, the Google system estimates the earthquake location, expansion and impact zone, and then directs direct warnings on people’s screens.
The idea is to buy valuable seconds before strong shakes, hopefully people have to provide enough time to fall to the ground, cover or go to safer places.
The system has been supported by the provision of initial warnings during the earthquake in California, Greece and Japan. But in 2023, Turkey Miss Miss highlighted the challenges of building a global warning system that relies on millions of phones, and when things go wrong, she is at a high stake. The earthquakes in Turkey were extraordinarily complicated, including numerous errors broken and powerful aftershocks. This makes it more difficult to detect, but also makes it clear why timely warnings are so important.
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Google says it continues to improve its earthquake technology and encourages Android users to keep this feature on. Earthquake warnings are active as default on many Android phones, and you can check it under Safety and emergency Settings
Increasing climate and earthquake risks, mobile -based early warning systems can be a way to reach people faster than traditional sirens or broadcasts. However, Google has warned that the alert system is to be completed – not changed – the national earthquake warning system.
