Google brings Android earthquake alerts to India

Google is set to introduce its Android Earthquake Alerts System in India, the company said in a press release on September 27.

The new system will be introduced in the country following consultation with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Seismology Center (NSC).

According to the press release, the system uses sensors in Android smartphones to detect and estimate earthquakes. Then it provides people with an early warning when the shaking starts.


Many countries around the world have already deployed this system, it said.

The release said, "Each Android smartphone is equipped with tiny accelerometers that can act as mini seismometers. When a phone is plugged in and charging, it can detect the very beginnings of earthquake shaking. If many phones detect earthquake-like shaking around the same time, our server can use this information to estimate that an earthquake may be happening, as well as characteristics of the event - like its epicenter and magnitude. Then, our server can send alerts to nearby phones. Internet signals travel at the speed of light, much faster than the propagation of earthquake shaking through the ground, so the alerts often reach phones several seconds before severe shaking does."

The alerts are designed to be "easy to read and follow, and are available in Indian languages supported by Android", google said.

Google will roll out the system for all Android 5+ users in India during the coming week.

How you can get these alerts

• You must have Wi-Fi and/or cellular data connectivity
• Both Android Earthquake Alerts and location settings must be enabled
• Those who do not want these alerts can turn it off in device settings.
• You can also get info via Google Search about local seismic events by searching search queries like “Earthquake near me.”