Overview

• Google acknowledged that its Android Earthquake Alerts System underestimated the February 6, 2023 Turkey quake as magnitude 4.5–4.9 and issued only 469 “Take Action” alerts while about 500,000 users received less intrusive “Be Aware” notifications.
• A study in Science and internal reviews prompted Google to overhaul its detection algorithm and rerun simulations that would have generated 10 million “Take Action” and 67 million “Be Aware” alerts for the initial quake.
• As of July 2025, the revised Android Earthquake Alerts System has been activated in 98 countries, extending its reach well beyond the original USGS partnership regions.
• Experts including Elizabeth Reddy and Harold Tobin have criticized the delay in disclosing the system’s flaws and cautioned against overreliance on private alert platforms over national emergency networks.
• The system leverages accelerometers in Android phones to crowdsource seismic data, aiming to give users precious seconds to seek safety before strong shaking arrives.