Google activated its alert for the Venezuelan earthquake: this is how it turns your phone into a seismograph | earthquake | sciences | Android Earthquake Alert System

First there was a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and then a stronger 7.5 followed. The hardest hit area was the state of La Guaira. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), it is the second most powerful recorded in the country since 1900.

These events occur in seconds and so far cannot be predicted. However, depending on the area, some people were warned with the Android alarm, which gave them some time to be safe. According to a report from El Mundo, this alert comes from the Android Earthquake Alerts System, the seismic alert network developed by Google.

The epicenter of the two earthquakes was in northern Venezuela, near Morón, in the state of Carabobo. What Google does is turn your phone into a ‘small seismograph’ and alert you when the seismic wave is arriving.

And here we have to talk about two systems, as Google explains. First, in California, Washington and Oregon it works with the ShakeAlert team, which has a network of 1,675 seismic sensors to detect tremors. These allow alerts to be sent directly to Android users.

Outside of these areas of the United States is the other system that uses more than 2 billion Android phones around the world. Here the accelerometer comes into play, a sensor that detects the vibrations, movement and inclination of the smartphone, so it is possible that it indicates the presence of an earthquake.

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“If your phone detects something it thinks could be an earthquake, it sends a signal to our earthquake detection server, along with an approximate location of where the tremor occurred,” Google says on its blog.

This is a difference of seconds. Those who are further away from the epicenter may receive the warning sooner. For this reason, alert levels are raised. According to a report from El Mundo, this allowed Venezuelans to leave the homes they were in.

Be Aware Alert is the name of the alert when a mild earthquake is estimated, in the case of MMI intensities 3 or 4. The alert that reaches the phone is silent. In the case of Moderate to Strong, Take Action Alert is activated, which turns on the screen, sounds an alarm at full volume and even skips the “Do Not Disturb” mode.