Google admits Türkiye earthquake alert failed to reach millions

Google has admitted its Android alert system failed to warn millions during the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes, with only 469 people receiving the most critical alerts.

Google’s Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) system did not issue effective warnings to the majority of people affected by the deadly earthquakes in Türkiye on 6 February 2023, the company has acknowledged.

Only 469 users received the top-tier “Take Action” alert, which provides up to 35 seconds’ notice and sounds an alarm to prompt shelter-seeking. Researchers estimate nearly 10 million people within a 158 km radius could have received such a warning.

A further half a million users were issued lower-level alerts designed for minor tremors. These do not override phones’ “Do Not Disturb” mode and are silent by default, reducing their effectiveness—particularly as the quake struck at 04:17, when most people were asleep.

Although Google initially claimed the system had worked well, it has since admitted its algorithm wrongly detected the first tremor as magnitude 4.5–4.9, far below the actual 7.8.

The second major quake later that day also triggered incomplete alerts, with only 8,158 phones receiving “Take Action” and 4 million users notified at the lower tier.

Following the disaster, Google’s engineers remodelled the initial event and generated simulated alerts for 10 million people, with an additional 67 million lower-tier notifications for those further afield.

While Google stresses its system is designed to supplement—not replace—official early warning mechanisms, scientists have warned that some countries may be placing excessive trust in technologies still undergoing validation.

More than 55,000 people were killed and more than a 100,000 injured in the twin earthquakes, which devastated southeastern Türkiye and parts of Syria.

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