Last minute: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 occurred at 06:21 this morning in the Alanya district of Antalya. While Alanya District Governor Fatih Ürkmezer announced that the earthquake was felt strongly in the district, no loss of life or property was experienced. Rather than the earthquake that woke some citizens from their sleep in the morning hours, the message sent to some mobile phones became the agenda. Many users on social media shared that a warning notification was sent to their mobile phones seconds before the earthquake. After the sharing, Google’s Android Earthquake Warning system became a matter of curiosity. “Is early warning before earthquake possible?” While seeking an answer to the question, it was claimed that Google’s Android Earthquake Warning system, which was recently made available in Turkey, warns citizens seconds before the earthquake waves reach the region. In the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that occurred in California, USA last month, the same warning system sent a warning message to about half a million people seconds before the earthquake. So how does this system predict earthquakes? How does the Android application system detect the earthquake and send notifications to mobile phones? Here are all the details…
BEFORE EARTHQUAKE MESSAGE SURPRISE! CALIFORNIA LIVED BEFORE ANTALYA
According to the news published in Milliyet with the signature of Betül Yasemin Keskin – Fazilet Şenol; Just before the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that occurred in the US state of California, the early warning message system saved the lives of more than half a million people. Thanks to the early warning system managed by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a warning message was sent to those living in the area before the ground started to shake, giving them time to be protected. Observing that the warning system, called ‘ShakeAlert’, passed the test in the biggest earthquake that has occurred since its official launch, the authorities describe it as a great success.
Robert de Groot, Coordinator of the US Geological Survey (USGS) and ShakeAlert, stated that many people received notifications that they had been warned up to 10 seconds before they felt the shaking. The successful operation of this system, which has been dreamed of and worked on for a long time, in the first earthquake and that no one was injured in the earthquake, is seen as a promising development.
WHAT IS ANDROID EARTHQUAKE WARNING SYSTEM? HOW IS IT WORKING?
How does Google’s system, which aims to warn people before earthquake waves reach the region, work? For this, the access of the Android operating system is used. So no matter where you live in the world, if you have an Android phone, you can integrate into the ‘Android Earthquake Warning System’. This means your Android phone can become a ‘mini seismometer’, joining millions of other Android phones to create the world’s largest earthquake detection network.
All smartphones have small motion sensors that can detect earthquake signals. If these sensors detect an earthquake wave warning sent to them, they deliver the warning to Android users. Along with this, a signal is sent to the earthquake detection server along with the rough location of where the shaking occurred. The server then combines the information from multiple phones to see if an earthquake has occurred. Android OS sends these alerts with data provided by ‘SharkeAlert’. The detection time of all these processes is happening at an unbelievable speed. Since this speed is higher than that of the earthquake, it is possible to receive the warning message and be aware of the earthquake that will occur seconds before.
‘HARD TO USE FOR iOS’
Mobile Software Specialist Ferhat Balaban said, “All latest model phones have motion sensors. Thanks to the motion sensor, you can be aware of the vibrations around you. When you install one of the early warning systems such as ‘ShakeAlert’ on any phone with a motion sensor, the application will be activated to warn you.”
According to Ferhat Balaban, such applications are easier to use on Android phones. On iOS softphones, on the other hand, it is more difficult to use because the applications running in the background are limited. Balaban said that if such an application is used in Turkey, as it is in the rest of the world, it will be efficient.
WHERE IS IT USED IN THE WORLD?
In 2020, Google began rolling out the largest earthquake detection system ever built. Google’s Android Earthquake Warning System was initially only available in the US, but has recently arrived in Greece and New Zealand. Google has been making the new system available for a while in Turkey, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. With the Earthquake Warning System, Google aims to warn its users seconds before an earthquake and enable them to move to a safer place.
CAN THE PLACE AND TIME OF THE EARTHQUAKE BE DETERMINED IN ADVANCE?
However, it is still not possible to predict the earthquake in advance! Gazi University Earthquake Engineering Application and Research Center Faculty Member Assoc. Dr. Bülent Özmen underlined that at the point where earthquake science has reached, it is not possible to predict earthquakes beforehand. Assoc. Dr. Özmen said, “After the earthquake occurs, P and S waves are formed. The P wave is the first wave. After the earthquake occurs, the P wave shakes the building but does not cause damage. The S wave that follows it shakes the building violently and causes damage. The early warning system Then a warning can be made for the second S wave to come.”
IF YOU ARE AWAY…
Stating that the time difference between the P and S waves varies depending on the distance from the earthquake, Assoc. Dr. “If you are about 70 km from the earthquake zone, you have 8-10 seconds, but if you are within 20 km, this time drops to 2-3 seconds,” Özmen said. Özmen, during this time, natural gas, electricity, etc. He underlined that the secondary effects of the earthquake can be reduced by shutting down things.
‘MADE IN CHINA BUT NO EVIDENCE’
Stating that it is not possible to feel and predict the earthquake in any way, Assoc. Dr. Bülent Özmen said, “Some people say that they predict the earthquake by looking at the ant, the sun and the cloud, or by looking at the movements of other animals, but these are just coincidental situations.”
Emphasizing that it is not possible to predict an earthquake scientifically, Assoc. Dr. Özmen said that only an earthquake that occurred in China in 1975 could be predicted. As a result of this estimation based on a lot of data, Assoc. Dr. Özmen stated that another earthquake occurred 8 months later, but they could not predict this earthquake. Assoc. Dr. According to Özmen, such situations can sometimes occur, but there is no scientific evidence to show them.
‘ IT CAN WORK AT EARTHQUAKE AT THE SEA’
So, can the early warning system work in Turkey? Stating that there are nearly a thousand terrestrial and marine faults in Turkey, Assoc. Dr. Bülent Özmen stated that they did not know when these faults could break, but they knew how much energy they could produce. Özmen said, “As the time difference between the P and S waves in earthquakes occurring in the marine environment in Turkey will be a little high in terms of seconds, the early warning system may work there.” Apart from this situation, Özmen said that there is no time for citizens to leave the building in the early warning systems and said, “If you are at a point far from the earthquake place or if you live on the first floor, you will have a chance to go out when the warning comes.”
SECONDARY DISASTERS CAN BE PREVENTED
“Apart from that, it prevents what we call secondary disasters by stopping natural gas, high-speed trains and electricity after the earthquake. There is no benefit otherwise,” said Assoc. Dr. Özmen stated that people who are far from the earthquake zone have a chance of 12-13 seconds and that time passes until people look at their phones and move in this short time.