![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/google-alert-failed-to-warn-people-of-turkey-earthquake/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/130549114_index-gettyimages-1247358301.jpg&description=Image source, AFP Google's earthquake warning system failed to get to many Turkish residents before February's deadly tremor, a BBC Newsnight investigation has found. Google says its alert system can give users up to a minute's notice on their phones before an earthquake hits. It says its alert was sent to millions before the first, biggest quake. However, the BBC visited three cities in the earthquake zone, speaking to hundreds of people, and didn't find anyone who had received a warning. The system works on Android phones, essentially any phone that isn't an iPhone. Android phones, which are often more affordable, make up about 80% of the phones in Turkey. "If Google makes a promise, or makes an implicit promise, to deliver a service like earthquake early warning, then to me, it raises the stakes," says Prof Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. "They have a responsibility to be able to follow through on something that is directly related to life and limb." Google's product lead on the system, Micah Berman, insisted it had worked. "We are confident that this system fired and sent alerts," he told the BBC. However, the company did not provide evidence that these alerts were widely received. More than 50,000 people died in February's earthquake . After the first major 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of the morning, another major tremor shook the surrounding area at lunchtime. The BBC was able to find a limited number of users who received a warning for this second quake. Google's Android Earthquake Alert System was announced in Turkey in June 2021. The system is operational in dozens of countries around the world. The company describes the ability to send quake alerts as a "core" part of its Android service. It works by using Android's vast network of phones. Smartphones contain tiny accelerometers that can detect shaking. When many phones shake at the same time, Google can pinpoint the epicentre and estimate the strengt){kind=link}
Google’s earthquake warning system failed to get to many Turkish residents before February’s deadly tremor, a BBC Newsnight investigation has found.
Google says its alert system can give users up to a minute’s notice on their phones before an earthquake hits.
It says its alert was sent to millions before the first, biggest quake.
However, the BBC visited three cities in the earthquake zone, speaking to hundreds of people, and didn’t find anyone who had received a warning.
The system works on Android phones, essentially any phone that isn’t an iPhone. Android phones, which are often more affordable, make up about 80% of the phones in Turkey.