![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Light-green-areas-show-the-countries-where-the-Android-Earthquake-Alerts-System-is-currently-detecti.jpeg\")
Light green areas show the countries where the Android Earthquake Alerts System is currently detecting and delivering alerts \u2013 credit Google, released<\/p>\n Light green areas show the countries where the Android Earthquake Alerts System is currently detecting and delivering alerts \u2013 credit Google, released<\/p>\n
Government earthquake alert systems are now being supplemented around the world with Google accelerometer data on smartphones and smartwatches, effectively creating a Google-wide early warning system.<\/p>\n
The system has increased the number of people in earthquake risk zones capable of receiving alerts by 1,000%, with 2024 seeing over 2 billion devices receiving one.<\/p>\n
Called the Android Earthquakes Alert system (AEA), it uses data from Android-powered devices to capture the faint signal of P-waves, a seismic tremor that precedes the more destructive S-waves.<\/p>\n
Using the network of devices like a giant sponge, it\u2019s a kind of detection through crowdsourcing<\/a>, and allows the AEA network to predict where earthquakes may strike, and how powerful they will come to be based on the sheer preponderous of data.<\/p>\n So far, AEA has sent out alerts for 11,000 quakes in 98 countries, with 85% of Google-device users report having received an alert.<\/p>\n \u201cEarthquakes are a constant threat to communities around the globe. While we\u2019ve gotten good at knowing where they\u2019re likely to strike, we still face devastating consequences when they do,\u201d Google representatives wrote in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if we could give people a few precious seconds of warning before the shaking starts? Those seconds can be enough time to get off a ladder, move away from dangerous objects and take cover.\u201d<\/p>\n Wealthier countries like China, South Korea, and Mexico have sophisticated early warning systems, but poorer nations may not be able to acquire the seismographic equipment and scientists required to staff a detection station 24\/7\/365.<\/p>\n The AEA, though rudimentary by comparison, offers a potentially lifesaving stopgap. For example, during the 2023 earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, the AEA significantly underestimated<\/a> the magnitude of the event.<\/p>\n QUAKE STORIES: In 10 Minutes, UN\u2019s Tsunami Warning System Notified Millions in East Asia Following Russian Earthquake<\/a><\/p>\n Estimating the correct magnitude can allow a warning system to judge how far a quake will travel, and who needs to be alerted.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting this right is crucial\u2014underestimate, and you might not warn people in danger; overestimate, and you risk sending out false alarms that erode public trust,\u201d Google added.<\/p>\n