Google has launched an Android earthquake alert system in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), and the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
This alert system will be available on Android smartphones which will be able to detect seismic activities in a particular location and send alerts.
The feature is already operational in several other countries and provides users with alerts as soon as any seismic activity is detected around them. With the introduction of this feature in India, android users will receive automatic alerts on their devices which will help them to move to safety during earthquakes.
How does Google's earthquake alert system work?
According to the blog post published by Google, android smartphones are equipped with small accelerometers that function as mini seismometers. These sensors are used for various functions in a smartphone as they can measure changes in acceleration, they are even capable of detecting the initial movements of an earthquake.
The Android smartphones and their built-in accelerometers can create a distributed network of earthquake detectors that can provide early warnings to users, which can potentially save lives and reduce the impact of seismic events.
As per Google all the earthquake alerts will be easy to understand for users and will be available in all Indian languages supported by Android smartphones. Users will only have to ensure the following prerequisites to get earthquake alerts on their phones.
- Android device running on Android 5.0 version or later.
- Active WiFi or cellular data connection.
- Enabled device settings and location settings.
How to set up the Google earthquake alert system?
Users can activate this feature on their smartphones by following the given steps.
- Go to Device settings.
- Go to the 'Apps and Notifications' or 'Apps' option.
- Locate and select 'Google' from the list.
- Tap on 'Emergency Alerts'.
- Enable the toggle of 'Earthquake Alerts' to receive earthquake alerts.