Google has acknowledged a major lapse in its Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) System during the catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey. The devastating earthquake, which claimed thousands of innocent lives, hit southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023 and Google’s advanced earthquake warning system didn’t work as advertised.
The Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) System was presented as a major tool for millions of Android smartphone users around the world to warn them ahead of an impending earthquake. Google aimed it in countries and areas that lack an early warning system infrastructure. While early experiments had shown promise, the AEA system underestimated the severity of the Turkey earthquake in 2023, thereby not extending the warning to several people.
Google’s earthquake warning system had failed
In a candid admission, Google’s own research analysis revealed that the AEA system registered the earthquake between a magnitude of 4.5 and 4.9 on the Richter scale, far below its actual 7.8 magnitude.This miscalculation was attributed to a calibration issue within its detection algorithm.
The consequence, however, was severe. Over 10 million Android phone users located within 160 kilometers of the epicenter did not receive the warning. Ideally, those users should have received the highest-level “Take Action” warning, which is designed to provide a crucial 10 to 35-second head start.
Instead, this critical alert was reportedly delivered to a just 469 individuals in the area. Approximately half a million received a milder “Be Aware” notification.
Initially, Google had indicated that the system performed well
Initially, Google had indicated that the system “performed well.” However, the company later recalibrated the algorithm and simulated the quake, which subsequently triggered the correct alerts.
While Google maintains that its system is supplementary to national warning networks and that it continuously refines its algorithms based on insights from each seismic event, experts have raised concerns regarding the delay in Google’s public acknowledgment of this critical issue, thus undermining the life-saving potential of such early warning systems.
