New Delhi:
An internal failure in Google’s Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) system led to millions missing life-saving early warnings during Turkey’s massive 7.8 magnitude quake in 2025.
No Warning Sent to 10 Million Within Danger Zone
Google’s much-touted early warning system failed to notify approximately 10 million people living within 160 km (98 miles) of the epicenter of the first massive earthquake in Turkey. These users were potentially eligible to receive a warning up to 35 seconds before the quake struck, a critical time window in which they could have taken shelter.
Instead, only 469 users received the system’s most urgent notification, the “Take Action” alert designed to override phone settings and display a full-screen message with a loud alarm.
Google has admitted its early warning system failed to accurately alert people during Turkey’s 2023 earthquake. A research paper confirms the most serious warning reached 469 people out of a potential 10 million.
North America tech reporter @JamesClayton5 explains.#R4Today
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) July 28, 2025
Low-Priority Alerts Sent to a Fraction of Users
According to a Google spokesperson, about 500,000 users received a less urgent “Be Aware” alert, which is meant to inform users of the potential for light shaking. This notification is categorized as low priority and does not bypass “Do Not Disturb” settings. It is designed to be non-disruptive, but in a disaster scenario, that design choice has raised major concerns.
Google’s Initial Response: “System Performed Well”
In a prior statement to the BBC, Google said the AEA system had “performed well” during the Turkish earthquakes. However, in light of recent findings, the company now admits that detection algorithm limitations were responsible for the underperformance.
“Development of these improvements was informed by our experience with the Turkey earthquake 2025,” Google spokesperson
How the Android Earthquake Alerts System Works
The Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) system uses data from millions of Android smartphones equipped with motion sensors. These phones detect the initial, faster-traveling P-waves of an earthquake and send that data to Google’s servers, which then estimate the quake’s location and magnitude.
Based on this real-time analysis, two types of alerts are sent out:
- “Take Action”: High-priority alert with a loud alarm and full-screen notification.
- “Be Aware”: Lower-priority alert for minor tremors, not designed to interrupt sleep or override phone settings.
This kind of alert system can be crucial when quakes strike at night as in Turkey’s case since many people were asleep at 04:17 AM when the first earthquake hit.
Also Read: Cricket Runs On Laws, Not On Stokes’ Moral Code!
Detection Failure: Magnitude Grossly Underestimated
The AEA system significantly underestimated the intensity of the first earthquake, estimating it between 4.5 and 4.9 MMS a stark contrast to the actual magnitude of 7.8. This underestimation caused the system to suppress the “Take Action” alert.
In the second major quake later that day, the system performed slightly better, sending:
- “Take Action” alerts to 8,158 phones
- “Be Aware” alerts to nearly 4 million users
Despite this partial recovery, the miscalculation in the initial quake has drawn attention to the limitations of AI-driven public safety tools.
Google Admits Limitations in Journal Report
Google researchers, writing in the journal Turkey Seismic Activity, acknowledged that the AEA system’s failures stemmed from “limitations to the detection algorithms.” These limitations prevented the system from correctly identifying the scale and urgency of the initial earthquake.
The incident has raised important questions about the reliability of automated emergency systems and the ethical responsibility of tech companies in life-and-death scenarios. As Google works on improvements, experts are calling for more rigorous testing, transparency, and fail-safes in such systems especially in high-risk regions like Turkey.
