Google admits it failed to warn 10 million of Turkey earthquake

Google admitted the failure of the Early warning system Alert people accurately during the 2023 killer of Türkiye’s earthquake.

It was possible to send ten million people 98 miles from the center of mile to the highest level in Google – giving up up to 35 seconds of warning to find safety.

Instead, only 469 “take” warnings were sent to the first earthquake of 7.8.

Google told that the BBC has been sent half a million people a lesser warning than the level, designed for “light shaking”, and does not alert users in the same prominent way.

The technology giant previously told the BBC that the system was “a good performance.”

The system works on Android devices, which make up more than 70 % of phones in Türkiye.

More than 55,000 people died when two major earthquakes in southeastern Türkiye were injured on February 6, 2023, more than 100,000 were wounded. Many were sleeping in the buildings that collapsed around them when the tremors were struck.

Google’s early warning system was in place and lived on earthquakes – however it reduced the strength of earthquakes.

“We continue to improve the system based on what we learn in every earthquake,” said a Google spokesman.

Google, called Android Harkquke Alerts (AEA), can discover shaking from a large number of mobile phones that use Android operating system.

Since the earthquakes move relatively slowly across the ground, a warning can then be sent.

The most dangerous warning from Google “Take Action”, which comes out loudly on the user’s phone – is not disturbed – and its screen covers.

This is the warning that is supposed to be sent to people when a stronger vibration is detected that can threaten human life.

AEA also has a less serious warning, “Be aware”, designed to inform users of potential tremors – a warning that does not exceed the device not to disturb.

Take Action was especially important in Türkiye due to catastrophic shaking and because the first earthquake hit at 04:17, when many users were asleep. Only the most serious alert would have woke up.

In the months after the earthquake, the BBC wanted to speak to the users who obtained this warning – initially with aimed at displaying the effectiveness of technology.

But despite talking to people in cities and cities across the area affected by the earthquake, for months, we could not find anyone who received a more dangerous notification of action before the earthquake hit. We published the results we reached later that year.

Google researchers wrote in the details of the Science Magazine about the error that occurred, noting “restrictions on detection algorithms.”

For the first earthquake, the system was estimated to shake between 4.5 and 4.9 on the MMS scale (MMS) when it was actually 7.8.

Another large earthquake was reduced later that day, as the system sends this time alert alerts to 8158 phones and are familiar with alerts less than four million users.

After Google’s researchers, they changed the algorithm, and they transformed the first earthquake again.

This time, the system generates 10 million working alerts for those who suffer from a risk at most – and 67 million others are familiar with alerts for those who live away from the earthquake center

Google told BBC: “Every early warning system in every earthquake is wrestling with the same challenge – large -sized algorithms,” Google told BBC.

But Elizabeth Ride, an assistant professor at Colorado School of Mines, says it is more than two years to get this information.

“I am really frustrated because it took a long time,” she said.

“We are not talking about a small event – people died – and we haven’t performed this warning the way we would like.”

Google says the system is supposed to be a supplementary and not a substitute for national regimes.

However, some scientists worry that countries put great confidence in technology that has not been fully tested.

“I think intense transparency about how successful it is important is,” Harold Topin, director of the Northern Western Pacific Network, told BBC.

“Will some places make Google’s account process, so we do not have that?”

Google researchers say the post -event analysis has better improved the system – AEA has paid alerts in 98 countries.

The British Broadcasting Corporation from Google asked how AEA performed during the 2025 earthquake in Myanmar, but it has not yet received a response.