Government earthquake alert systems are now being supplemented around the world with Google accelerometer data on smartphones and smartwatches, effectively creating a Google-wide early warning system.

The system has increased the number of people in earthquake risk zones capable of receiving alerts by 1,000%, with 2024 seeing over 2 billion devices receiving one.

Called the Android Earthquakes Alert system (AEA), it uses data from Android-powered devices to capture the faint signal of P-waves, a seismic tremor that precedes the more destructive S-waves.

Using the network of devices like a giant sponge, it’s a kind of detection through crowdsourcing, and allows the AEA network to predict where earthquakes may strike, and how powerful they will come to be based on the sheer preponderous of data.

So far, AEA has sent out alerts for 11,000 quakes in 98 countries, with 85% of Google-device users report having received an alert.

“Earthquakes are a constant threat to communities around the globe. While we’ve gotten good at knowing where they’re likely to strike, we still face devastating consequences when they do,” Google representatives wrote in a statement.

“What if we could give people a few precious seconds of warning before the shaking starts? Those seconds can be enough time to get off a ladder, move away from dangerous objects and take cover.”

Wealthier countries like China, South Korea, and Mexico have sophisticated early warning systems, but poorer nations may not be able to acquire the seismographic equipment and scientists required to staff a detection station 24/7/365.

The AEA, though rudimentary by comparison, offers a potentially lifesaving stopgap. For example, during the 2023 earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, the AEA significantly underestimated the magnitude of the event.

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Estimating the correct magnitude can allow a warning system to judge how far a quake will travel, and who needs to be alerted.

“Getting this right is crucial—underestimate, and you might not warn people in danger; overestimate, and you risk sending out false alarms that erode public trust,” Google added.

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“The challenge lies in the trade-off between speed and accuracy. The first few seconds of an earthquake provide limited data, but every second you wait to issue an alert is a second less of warning for those in the path of the shaking.”

It’s not the first instance of Google using its data for good. It also issues flash flood warnings from its Flood Hub project. In the 2023 monsoon season of India, over 25 million flood alerts were sent out to India and Bangladesh.

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