Civil Defense reported that, according to confirmation from the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), no seismic activity was recorded in the country on the afternoon of August 18th, Cubadebate reported.
Numerous users in Cuba received a security alert on Tuesday afternoon related to a supposed seismic event. The notification generated concern among the population and led some people to preemptively evacuate certain buildings.
Dr. Enrique Arango, head of research at CENAIS, assured that the national seismological network did not detect any seismic event at the indicated time. He described the alert, which reached some mobile phones and caused confusion among the population, as “completely false.”
Authorities at the center are urging citizens to stay informed only through official channels. And to avoid spreading unverified messages, in order to prevent creating false expectations or generating unnecessary panic.
This appeal is especially important in situations where an automated alert can spread rapidly among mobile phone and social media users. Even if it is not subsequently confirmed by the institutions responsible for seismic monitoring.
CENAIS maintains constant surveillance of seismic activity throughout the country through its network of stations. Any recorded and confirmed event will be promptly communicated through official channels.
What could have happened this Tuesday in Cuba?
To date, there is no official technical explanation from Google regarding the specific cause of the alert received by Cuban users this Tuesday.
Therefore, it would be incorrect to state that Google made a specific error without an explanation from the company.
What can be established is the sequence of events:
-Numerous Android phones received a seismic alert during the afternoon.
-The notification caused concern and prompted preventative measures in various locations.
-CENAIS checked its network of seismological stations.
-Also the center confirmed that it had not detected a seismic event that would justify the alert.
-Therefore, the notification received by users did not originate from a seismic alert issued by CENAIS.
The Google technology that may have generated the notification has a documented history of false alerts.
A definitive explanation of what happened would require knowing the data that the Google system received and processed in the minutes leading up to the alert being issued.
Tuesday’s experience also raises an important question for users: what should you do when a seismic alert appears on your phone?
In a real emergency, an early warning can provide valuable seconds to take protective measures. Therefore, such a notification should not be automatically ignored.
However, once received, it is equally important to verify the information with the relevant authorities.
In Cuba, CENAIS has a national network of stations that continuously monitors seismic activity. Its specialists can determine if an event occurred, where it occurred, and what its characteristics were.
Hence the importance of the call made this Tuesday by CENAIS itself: consult official channels and avoid treating an automated notification. As confirmed information before the seismological authorities have verified the event.
Google has been refining the system since its launch in 2021. According to information published by EL PAÍS, as of March 2024, it had issued alerts related to 1,279 suspected earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4.5. While the accuracy of the estimates had progressively improved.
Therefore, the event that occurred this Tuesday does not demonstrate that Google’s technology is useless. Nor does it allow us to conclude that the system failed for a specific reason. It does, however, highlight the need to interpret its notifications within a broader system of risk monitoring and communication.
In Cuba, the primary source for confirming an earthquake remains the information provided by the relevant scientific and civil protection institutions.
Until official confirmation is received, an alert appearing on a phone screen should be understood as an automatic warning. And not as definitive confirmation that an earthquake has occurred.
In the case of August 18th, the message from CENAIS (National Center for Seismological Surveillance) is clear: its network did not detect the event that would have warranted the alert. Also the public should consult official sources for any information regarding seismic activity in the country.
With information from Cubadebate
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