Google brings earthquake detection and early alerts to Android devices

An early warning during earthquake can save people lives. Google is today announcing a new feature for Android devices that will be helpful during earthquake.

Google worked with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to send earthquake alerts, powered by ShakeAlert, directly to Android devices in California. A few seconds of warning through Android device can give you time to drop, cover, and hold on before the shaking arrives.

Also, from today, any Android phone can be part of the Android Earthquake Alerts System. Your Android device will act as a mini seismometer, joining millions of other Android phones out there to form the world’s largest earthquake detection network.

Here’s how Android Earthquake Alerts System works:

• All smartphones come with tiny accelerometers that can sense signals that indicate an earthquake might be happening.
• If the phone detects something that it thinks may be an earthquake, it sends a signal to our earthquake detection server, along with a coarse location of where the shaking occurred.
• The server then combines information from many phones to figure out if an earthquake is happening.
• Google will use this info to share a fast, accurate view of the impacted area on Google Search.
• When you look up “earthquake” or “earthquake near me,” you’ll find relevant results for your area, along with helpful resources on what to do after an earthquake.

Source: Google