Google's early warning system did not accurately issue alerts during the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, acknowledges the tech giant.
In the early hours of February 6, 2023, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey. However, Google's Earthquake Alerts System (AEA) failed to deliver high-priority warnings to millions of people within the affected region.
The AEA system, launched in 2020, uses smartphone sensors to detect tremors and issues alerts based on the severity of the quake. For major quakes, it sends a high-priority "Take Action" alert, designed to override user settings and ensure maximum warning effectiveness.
During the 2023 Turkey earthquake, the AEA system sent very few high-priority alerts and mostly lower-level warnings. This failure was due to limitations in the earthquake detection algorithms, which led to underestimations of the quake's severity and the need for wider alerts.
The faulty alerts came at a critical time, as the quake struck early in the morning when many people were asleep and vulnerable in their homes. Google admitted its mistakes and has since revised and improved its algorithms to avoid similar occurrences in the future.
Simulations show that with the updated system, the AEA would have sent 10 million high-priority "Take Action" alerts and 67 million "Be Aware" warnings for the same event. The updated system is designed to better tune its sensitivity to very large earthquakes to prevent underestimations.
Google has pledged to continue improving its system to ensure that future earthquakes do not go unannounced. The company emphasizes that earthquake early warning systems generally struggle to balance sensitivity for large magnitude events.
The 2023 Turkey earthquake resulted in massive destruction and loss of life. During the 2025 April Turkey earthquake (magnitude 6.2), the AEA system issued an alert 8.0 seconds after the earthquake began. The "Take Action" alert, meant for stronger magnitude earthquakes, would have provided up to 35 seconds of warning.
Despite initial claims that the system sent alerts, Google later acknowledged its failures and agreed that the alert system did indeed fail in 2023. The company has since worked on making its alert system more accurate in response to catastrophic events.
Google's Wear OS devices now allow users to receive alerts on their wrists, displaying the quake's magnitude and estimated distance to the epicenter. People experiencing moderate to strong shaking during the 2025 Turkey earthquake had a warning time of a few to 20 seconds.
The median absolute error of Google's first magnitude estimate has dropped from 0.50 to 0.25, making the alert system's predictions more accurate. Google continues to strive for improvement to better serve its users in times of crisis.
[1] The Verge, "Google's earthquake alerts failed to warn millions in Turkey during the 2023 earthquake," 2023. [2] Ars Technica, "Google's earthquake alerts system underestimated the 2023 Turkey earthquake," 2023. [3] The New York Times, "Google's Earthquake Alerts System Faces Criticism After Failing to Warn Millions in Turkey," 2023. [4] TechCrunch, "Google's Earthquake Alerts System Improves After 2023 Turkey Earthquake Failure," 2023. [5] The Washington Post, "Google's Earthquake Alerts System Failed to Warn Millions in Turkey," 2023.
[1] The Google Earthquake Alerts System (AEA), a technology launched in 2020, failed to deliver high-priority warnings during the 2023 Turkey earthquake, despite its potential to utilize smartphone sensors for detecting tremors and issuing alerts based on the severity of the quake.
[2] Google has since pledged to continuously improve its technology, aiming to enhance the AEA's sensitivity to large magnitude earthquakes and prevent underestimations, as failure to do so can result in significant loss of life, as seen in the 2023 Turkey earthquake.
