Turkey’s Android Earthquake Warning System Ineffective, BBC Reports

According to BBC investigators, Google’s earthquake warning system for Android, which is designed to issue timely alerts for people to seek safety, may not have functioned as intended during the recent earthquake in Turkey on February 6th. The investigators found that none of the hundreds of individuals they interviewed in three Turkish cities received any alerts prior to the initial tremor. Additionally, only a small group of people received an alert for a subsequent tremor, as stated by the investigators.

We asked Google for comment. Product manager Micah Berman tells the BBC that millions of people in Turkey have received earthquake alerts, although the company has not shared details of widespread notifications. Google showed a handful of social media posts from people who said they had been warned, but only one related to the first quake. Berman says he doesn’t have a “hard answer” as to why social networks were silent on the alerts, but notes the nature of the quake and the reliability of the Internet connection could affect the system.

The Android Earthquake Alert System uses the phones’ accelerometer (aka motion detection) to effectively crowdsource alerts. If multiple phones vibrate at the same time, Google can use the collective data to find the epicenter and intensity of the tremor and automatically send an alert to people who are likely to feel the intensity of the tremor. Even if the warning is only a minute, it can be enough time to find shelter or evacuate. In theory, the technology can help people in areas where conventional warnings aren’t available.

The concern is that the system may have failed during a strong (magnitude 7.8) earthquake. Even if it works, it’s not clear how many people should and will receive warnings in such cases, let alone milder cases. Without more information, it’s not certain that earthquake alerts on Android will replace traditional warnings on radio and TV.