Google has admitted that its Android Earthquake Alert System (AEA) failed to warn correctly during the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey. More than 55,000 people were killed and more than 1 lakh people were injured in this horrific disaster. Let us tell you that on the morning of February 6, 2023, two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5 magnitudes struck Turkey and northern Syria when most people were asleep. These tremors collapsed thousands of buildings.

How did Google's system fail?

The AEA system was up and operational at that time, but it underestimated the severity of the first tremor (7.8 magnitude). According to Google, only 469 "Take Action" alerts were sent, while about 1 crore people were present in the area who should have received this alert. Instead, about 5 lakh people only received the “Be Aware” alert, which is for mild tremors and neither makes the phone ring louder nor overrides the ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.

How does this Android-based system work?

The AEA system detects earth movements through sensors in smartphones and claims to send alerts before the main tremor arrives. More than 70% of mobile phones in Turkey are Android-based, yet this system was unable to alert people in time.

Why did the alert not come?

Google’s algorithm initially estimated the magnitude of the earthquake to be only between 4.5 and 4.9, which was much less than the actual magnitude of 7.8. According to a report, despite months of investigation, not a single person was found who had received the main “Take Action” alert.

What happened next?

Google admitted its mistake and said that it is improving the system by “learning” from every earthquake.

When Google later reran a simulation of the same quake, the system sent 10 million “Take Action” and 67 million “Be Aware” alerts.

The system performed better during the second tremor, sending 8,158 “Take Action” and nearly 4 million “Be Aware” alerts.

The AEA system is now active in 98 countries and Google claims to have upgraded the system by learning from the Turkiye quake.

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