Turkey earthquake: What is Android’s Earthquake Alert System and how its failure led to thousands of deaths

Google’s Android Earthquake Alert System (AEA) failed to deliver timely and effective warnings during the catastrophic Turkey earthquakes on 6 February 2023. Despite being active, the system severely underestimated the strength of the first 7.8-magnitude quake, leading to only a few high-level alerts being sent to users. The incident has raised questions about the reliability of smartphone-based early warning systems, particularly in regions with limited national alert infrastructure.

What is Android’s Earthquake Alert System?

Launched by Google, the Android Earthquake Alert System is designed to detect earthquakes using the accelerometers built into Android smartphones. When many phones in a region detect shaking simultaneously, Google’s servers process this data to estimate the epicentre and magnitude of the event. Based on this, the system sends alerts directly to users — often seconds before the shaking reaches them.

There are two levels of alerts:

“Take Action”: the most serious warning, which overrides Do Not Disturb settings, sets off a loud alarm, and displays a full-screen message urging immediate safety.

“Be Aware”: a less urgent notification for lighter shaking that doesn’t override user settings or wake the device.

The AEA is currently available in nearly 100 countries and is intended to act as a supplementary safety layer in places that lack a national earthquake warning system.

What went wrong during the Turkey earthquake?

During the first major earthquake in Turkey, the AEA system sent only 469 “Take Action” alerts, even though around 10 million people were within range to receive such a warning. Around 500,000 users got the lower-level “Be Aware” alerts, which do not wake sleeping users — a crucial limitation, since the quake struck at 04:17.

The failure stemmed from an incorrect assessment of the quake’s magnitude. Google's detection algorithm estimated the shaking to be between 4.5 and 4.9 on the magnitude scale — a severe underestimation compared to the actual 7.8.

After reviewing the incident, Google updated its algorithm. In a simulation using the improved model, the system would have generated 10 million “Take Action” alerts and 67 million “Be Aware” notifications.

“We continue to improve the system based on what we learn in each earthquake,” Google said in a statement.