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LONDON: Google has admitted that its early-warning system for earthquakes failed to correctly report the severity of Turkiye’s deadly 2023 earthquake to users, the BBC reported on Monday.

Had the Android software reported the information accurately, at least 10 million people within 98 miles of the epicenter could have been sent a maximum-level alert, giving them up to 35 seconds to find safety.

However, just 469 urgent “take action” warnings were sent ahead of the first 7.8-magnitude earthquake, with at least 500,000 people receiving a lower-level warning.

The lesser message only warns recipients of “light shaking” and does not override the do-not-disturb setting on phones.

The US tech giant previously told the BBC that its warning system had “performed well” during the disaster.

Until its most recent investigation, the BBC had not understood the full extent of the Google software’s failings, it reported.

Google’s software, named Android Earthquake Alerts, is described by the tech giant as a “global safety net.”

It operates in almost 100 countries, many of which lack an official warning system for earthquakes.

AEA is operated by Google, not national governments, and it works on Android devices, which make up the majority of the global phone market over Apple devices.

Similar to the global split in market share, about 70 percent of phones in Turkiye are Android devices.

The February 2023 disaster, which struck southeastern Turkiye, killed more than 55,000 people and injured at least 100,000.

AEA detects the severity of earthquakes by compiling data received from Android mobile phones in a given area.

However, during the Turkiye earthquake, the software failed to accurately detect its severity and send out the necessary number of “take action” warnings, which set off a loud alarm on users’ phones.

A company spokesperson said: “We continue to improve the system based on what we learn in each earthquake. Every earthquake early warning system grapples with the same challenge — tuning algorithms for large-magnitude events.”

As many people were asleep when the first quake struck at 4:17 a.m., a “take action” warning, which overrides silent and do-not-disturb modes, would have been necessary.

Google researchers cited “limitations to the detection algorithms” when discussing the failures in a report published by the Science journal.

The AEA software estimated shaking at 4.5-4.9 on the moment magnitude scale for the first quake, when its real strength was 7.8.

The second quake later in the day saw “take action” alerts sent to 8,158 phones in the area, while the lesser “be aware” message was dispatched to almost 4 million phones.

In later simulations of the first quake, AEA sent 10 million urgent “take action” alerts to users most at risk.

A further 67 million “be aware” alerts were sent to phones located further away from the epicenter of the simulated quake.

Elizabeth Reddy, assistant professor at Colorado School of Mines, told the BBC that she is “really frustrated” that it took so long for the software failings to be revealed.

“We’re not talking about a little event — people died — and we didn’t see a performance of this warning in the way we would like.”

LONDON: The Times and several major international news outlets renewed calls over the weekend for Israel to lift its ban on journalist access and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid mounting concerns over the enclave’s deepening hunger crisis.

“Reporting from any conflict zone is a risky and brave pursuit that ultimately performs a global public service,” Philip Pan, the international editor of The Times, said in a statement on Sunday. “Adding the threat of food deprivation and even starvation to these risks is deeply concerning.”

Humanitarian organizations and global leaders have warned of Gaza’s escalating food crisis, which has led to dozens of hunger-related deaths in recent weeks.

Local Palestinian journalists, who have been reporting tirelessly since the conflict escalated 21 months ago, are also being affected by severe food shortages. Pan noted that Times reporters in Gaza “face difficulty finding food and ensuring safe freedom of movement in order to do their jobs.”

Last week, AFP, Reuters, AP, and the BBC issued a joint statement warning that their journalists in Gaza are at risk of starvation. The statement urged Israel to allow journalists to freely enter and exit the enclave and to ensure adequate food supplies are delivered.

“For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza,” the statement read. “They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.”

In a similar move, dozens of members of the International News Safety Institute, a nonprofit press freedom group, released a statement on Friday calling on Israel to allow journalists at risk in Gaza to leave the territory, and for international reporters to be granted entry. Signatories included The Washington Post, Financial Times, and The Guardian.

“Israel must allow other journalists into Gaza,” the statement said. “Nearly two years into the war, no international media have been permitted to independently enter. As local reporters are killed, face the threat of starvation, or try to flee, the world will be systematically cut off from witnessing what is happening. This cannot be allowed to happen.”

Since the start of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has maintained tight restrictions on press access, placing what media organizations describe as an “immense burden” on local reporters working amid chronic shortages of electricity, internet, food, and medical supplies.

Israeli authorities have consistently cited security concerns to justify the ban, arguing that opening access could endanger journalists or disrupt military operations. While a limited number of foreign journalists have been allowed into Gaza under Israeli army escort, press advocates argue such visits offer only tightly controlled and one-sided coverage.

Human rights and press freedom groups warn that the blockade on independent journalism appears to be a calculated effort to suppress the flow of information and obstruct the documentation of alleged war crimes that could be used against Israel in international legal proceedings.

Organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International have documented multiple cases of Palestinian journalists being directly targeted. These, they say, could amount to war crimes under international law.

On Monday, Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights accused the government of committing genocide in Gaza, citing repeated attacks on civilians based solely on their Palestinian identity.

Since May, CPJ has tracked the growing toll of extreme hunger on journalists in Gaza, including reports of fainting, exhaustion, cognitive impairment, and other symptoms. Medical professionals are reportedly experiencing the same conditions.

Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director, said Israel was “starving Gazan journalists into silence” and urged the international community to intervene. “The world must act now: protect them, feed them, and allow them to recover while other journalists step in to help report,” she said.

On Sunday, Israel announced a pause in military operations in parts of Gaza to allow the delivery of international aid amid rising global outrage. However, aid agencies said the measures fell short of addressing the escalating humanitarian emergency.