Google’s highly useful earthquake alert system is coming to India. The feature, which was announced in 2020, has now been introduced in India. In a blogpost, Google announced it has launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), Ministry of Earth Sciences. Earthquakes are a common natural disaster, and early warnings can make a vital difference in safeguarding lives and property.The Android Earthquake Alerts System utilizes the built-in sensors in Android smartphones, which are known as accelerometers. The blog post mentions that the accelerometers can function as miniature seismometers.
Here is how it will work.
Google mentions that when a plugged-in and charging Android phone detects the initial tremors of an earthquake, it sends this data to a central server. If multiple phones in the same area detect similar shaking, the server can estimate the earthquake’s characteristics, including its epicenter and magnitude. Subsequently, it rapidly sends alerts to nearby Android devices. These alerts travel along the internet at the speed of light, often reaching users several seconds before the more severe shaking does.
The alerts are designed to be user-friendly and are available in various Indian languages supported by Android, ensuring accessibility for a broad range of users.
Which Android devices are compatible?
Android users with devices running Android 5 or newer will receive the feature in the coming week. Users need to have Wi-Fi or cellular data connectivity and ensure that both the Android Earthquake Alerts and location settings are enabled. For those who do not wish to receive these alerts, there’s an option to turn off Earthquake Alerts in device settings.
