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Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Phones Create Earthquake Monitor

Saw similar applications suggested for some time.  I am still a member of a CA based system that in part combines sensors and crowd sourcing monitors.  I get alerts weekly.  And will be alerted if people need to take quick action.  Now Google is seriously in the loop.

Google turns Android phones into an earthquake detection network
Your phones are essentially mini seismometers.
By Cherlynn Low, @cherlynnlow  in Engadget

In a natural disaster like an earthquake, even a few seconds’ heads up could save lives. You could use that time to get you and your loved ones somewhere safe and prevent fatalities and injuries. Google is rolling out a feature today that not only gives you an early warning about potential earthquakes happening, but also turns your phone into a mini seismometer and makes it part of a network of shockwave-detecting Android devices.

“The public infrastructure to detect and alert everyone about an earthquake is costly to deploy,” Google’s principal software engineer of Android Marc Stogaitis said in a blog post today. Not everyone is signed up to receive text alerts, for example, so if the early warning system is built into the OS, these messages can reach more people. Google first collaborated with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services to send these alerts to Android devices in California via the USGS’ ShakeAlert system. This uses information gathered from more than 700 seismometers across the state to figure out when an earthquake is taking place.... " 

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