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More than a thousand earthquakes - the number can reach up to two thousand - are recorded every year in Greece, as in our country almost half of the seismic energy of the European continent is released. Commonly, there is not a day that an earthquake is not recorded in Greece, which is characterized by high seismicity. Early warning, according to research, could help prevent at least 50% of injuries that occur during an earthquake, as it can provide valuable time for citizens to be safe and evacuated safely.
How does it work
Google's Android Earthquake Alerts service, which has been available in Greece for a few days now, provides timely automatic notification to users of Android smartphones every time there is an earthquake in their area. Early alerts use the accelerometers of Android smartphones to detect seismic waves that indicate the possibility of an earthquake.
If the cell phone detects a vibration that it "perceives" as seismic, then it sends a signal to the earthquake detection server, along with an indication of the area where the vibration occurred. The server then cross-references information from multiple mobiles to locate the quake, its magnitude, and its exact location. Once the information intersection is completed, the relevant automatic notification is sent to the smart phones of the residents of the area affected by the earthquake.
If someone does not want to receive these notifications, they can turn off the service from their device.
Google's Android Earthquake Alerts Systems service was launched in August 2020 in the state of California, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey and the ShakeAlert® system, with the aim of using smart phone sensors to detect earthquakes around the world and provides users with timely notification. It soon expanded to the state of Oregon. The system provides almost instant notification in Google Search for seismic vibrations, if a user searches for "earthquake near me".
Greece is the first European country to expand the service, which was also available in New Zealand - in May it will be extended to Washington.
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