Google is expanding the Android Earthquake Alert System to more regions outside the United States. The company is bringing both the detection and alert system to Android users in Greece and New Zealand. Both these countries lack an early warning alert system for earthquakes.
Your Android Phone Can Warn You About Earthquakes
Google announced the Android Earthquake Alert System in August last year. The company is basically using the accelerometer on your Android phone to turn it into a mini seismometer. It is also relying on the massive install base of Android devices to crowdsource and verify the data and figure out if an earthquake is indeed happening or not.
Google notes in its announcement on The Keyword that New Zealand and Greece will be the first countries to take advantage of both detection and alert capabilities of the Android Earthquake Alerts System.
The Android Earthquake Alert System was so far only available in California in the US. Google is now expanding the system and bringing it to Greece and New Zealand. This will ensure that Android users in these countries will automatically receive an alert on their phone whenever an earthquake is happening or about to hit. There's also an option to turn off these earthquake alerts.
Since Greece and New Zealand lack an early warning alert system, Google is relying on accelerometers on Android phones in these countries to detect the earthquake. When an earthquake hits, every second counts and Google hopes that its alert system will give people who find themselves in such a situation that extra time.
Google is also bringing the Earthquake Alert System to more states in the US. It recently expanded the feature to Android users in Oregon and will be rolling it out to the State of Washington in May.