Android's earthquake detection feature comes to Greece, New Zealand users

Now the search giant is expanding the Android Earthquake Alerts System using both the detection and alerts capabilities to Android users in Greece and New Zealand.


Devdiscourse News Desk | California | Updated: 29-04-2021 07:33 IST | Created: 29-04-2021 07:33 IST
Android's earthquake detection feature comes to Greece, New Zealand users
Android users who do not wish to receive the earthquake alerts can turn this off in device settings. Image Credit: ANI

Last years, Google, in partnership with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System to send earthquake alerts to Android users in California, followed by Oregon.

Now the search giant is expanding the Android Earthquake Alerts System using both the detection and alerts capabilities to Android users in Greece and New Zealand. Android users in these countries will receive automatic early warning alerts when there is an earthquake in their area. 

All Android smartphones are equipped with tiny accelerometers that can sense signals that indicate an earthquake might be happening. If the device detects something that it thinks may be an earthquake, it sends a signal to Google's earthquake detection server, along with a coarse location of where the shaking occurred.

The server then combines information from several phones to figure out if an earthquake is happening and identifies its location and magnitude.

Android users who do not wish to receive the earthquake alerts can turn this feature off in device settings.

"In a natural disaster or emergency, every second counts. For example, when it comes to earthquakes, studies show that more than 50% of injuries can be prevented if users receive an early warning, and have the critical seconds needed to get to safety. That's why last year, we launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System, which uses sensors in Android smartphones to detect earthquakes around the world," Google said.

Further, Android's phone-based earthquake detection feature will be rolling out in Washington in May 2021.

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