Google has acknowledged that its Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) system failed to accurately warn the vast majority of people before the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey in February 2023, killing over 55,000 and injuring more than 100,000.
Despite the potential to issue high-level alerts to 10 million people within 158 kilometres of the epicentre, only 469 “Take Action” alerts were sent out ahead of the first 7.8 magnitude quake, a risky shortfall, as this is the level of warning designed to wake sleeping users and prompt them to seek immediate safety.
