Google has announced the launch of a new alert system for Android smartphones in India to provide early warning in the event of an earthquake. The Android Earthquake Alert system uses sensors on Android smartphones to detect earthquakes and estimate their severity. Google said the feature is already available in some other countries around the world and will now be rolled out in India. Google said the earthquake alert system on Android was designed in consultation with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Center for Seismology (NCS).
In its blogThe search engine giant said it will provide automatic early warning alerts to Indian Android users if an earthquake strikes their area. The earthquake warning system will use the accelerometer inside the smartphone and use it as a “mini seismometer”.
“When a phone is plugged in and charging, it can detect the start of an earthquake shaking. If many phones detect earthquake-like shaking around the same time, our servers can use this information to estimate the likelihood of an earthquake occurring, and the characteristics of the event. , such as the epicenter and magnitude,” Google said in its blog post. Wednesday.
Google’s servers then send alerts to mobile phones in the area. Google said that because network signals travel much faster than earthquakes, users will receive quick alerts on their phones before violent shaking begins. The company also confirmed that Earthquake Alert will be available in Indian languages supported by Android.
The tech giant further details its earthquake warning system on its website crisis response Page. “This method uses more than 2 billion Android phones around the world as miniature seismometers to create the world’s largest earthquake detection network; the phone can detect the vibration and shaking speed of earthquakes and provide Android users in affected areas with information accordingly. Sound an alert,” the company explained. If users feel the ground shaking in their area, they can simply search for “earthquakes near me” on Google Search to get more information about natural events.
Google will send out two different types of earthquake alerts
Photo source: Google
When an earthquake occurs, Google will issue two different types of alerts – “Attention Alerts” and “Take Action Alerts.” Both conditions are only triggered when an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or above occurs. Google says Be Aware alerts serve as warnings for slight shaking and provide more information when you click on the notification. This alert respects the user’s phone’s volume, Do Not Disturb (DND), and notification settings. The Take Action alert, on the other hand, is designed to warn users before they experience moderate to severe shaking. This alert ignores your Do Not Disturb setting, turns on your screen, and plays a loud noise to grab your attention.
To receive alerts, users must have a smartphone running Android 5 or higher and have a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. Users should also enable Android earthquake alerts and location settings on their smartphones. The new alert system will roll out to all eligible Android users this week.
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