Best Earthquake Alert Apps: Early Warning vs Notifications

Turn on your phone's built-in early warning first: Wireless Emergency Alerts plus the free MyShake app in California, Oregon and Washington, Android Earthquake Alerts wherever Google supports them, iPhone Earthquake Alerts in the US, and Japan Meteorological Agency warnings in Japan. They're built in, free, and the only alerts that can arrive before shaking. For what happened and what's near you afterwards, GodsView is the app we'd pick: earthquakes near 8,400+ cities, every quake worldwide today, alerts for places you save, plus fires, storms and weather warnings in the same free app on the web and iPhone. GodsView is not an early-warning system; it shows quakes minutes after USGS publishes them.

Find earthquakes near you

Early warning or notification: which one do you need?

Earthquake early warning detects a quake that has already started and races the slower, more damaging waves to people farther away. USGS describes the warning as "seconds to tens of seconds", and says ShakeAlert "is not earthquake prediction" (USGS fact sheet). The Japan Meteorological Agency says the time before strong shaking is "a matter of seconds", and close to the source "the warning may not be transmitted before strong tremors hit" (JMA).

Earthquake notification tells you about a quake after seismologists have located it. It works everywhere, but later: USGS posts a California quake in about 2.5 minutes on average, other US quakes within about 8 minutes and quakes outside the US in about 20 minutes (USGS FAQ).

Earthquake alert apps compared (November 2026)

Why GodsView is our pick for after the shaking

After the shaking, you want to know how big it was, where, and who was close. GodsView answers that on one screen, using USGS data refreshed every few minutes.

• Earthquakes near me lists the cities that had an M2.5+ quake within 100 km in the last 24 hours, and there's a page for each of 8,400+ cities, such as Tokyo and Los Angeles. No account needed.
• Earthquakes today shows every quake in the USGS feed worldwide, with counts for the last hour and day. Browse by country at earthquakes by country.
• Alerts for saved places (a parent's house, a holiday flat) are part of GodsView Plus, $10.99 a month or $99.99 a year as of November 2026 (pricing). The free GodsView AI iPhone app delivers them as push alerts; Android is in testing. Setup is in the disaster alerts guide.
• More than quakes. The same app shows wildfires from NASA FIRMS, storms and weather warnings, so one place covers most of what can hit a home.

When we checked our near-me page just before 01:00 UTC on November 6, 2026, 7 cities had an M2.5+ quake within 100 km in the previous 24 hours. The strongest was an M5.1 65 km from Kahama, Tanzania; Sendai had an M4.6 at 46 km.

On the same check, our earthquakes near Tokyo page showed no M2.5+ quake within 100 km in the previous 24 hours, but USGS had recorded 7 in the past 30 days. The largest was an M5.5 about 92 km east of the city on October 28 (UTC), near Asahi. See also earthquakes in Japan.

What GodsView doesn't do: warn you before shaking. A GodsView alert arrives after USGS has published the quake. It tells you what just happened near a parent's house; it can't tell you to take cover.

See every earthquake in the last 24 hours

Do you need a ShakeAlert app? WEA, MyShake and phone alerts

ShakeAlert is the USGS-managed early-warning system for California, Oregon and Washington. USGS stresses that "there is no app called 'ShakeAlert' to download" (USGS). The alert reaches you through partners, each with its own threshold (ShakeAlert):

• Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA): magnitude 5.0 or more, for places expected to get light shaking (MMI 4) or stronger. No app needed; the setting is usually under Emergency Alerts or Government Alerts.
• iPhone and Android built-in alerts, and apps such as MyShake: magnitude 4.5 or more, for places expected to get weak shaking (MMI 3) or stronger.

MyShake, built at UC Berkeley, is free on the App Store and Google Play (USGS FAQ). If you live on the West Coast, install it. Outside the three states it shows "information from the USGS and other global earthquake authorities" (MyShake).

MyShake vs USGS: what's the difference?

MyShake delivers ShakeAlert warnings before shaking. USGS's Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) emails you after a quake, and USGS says "ENS is NOT an early warning system" (USGS FAQ).

How do Android Earthquake Alerts work?

They're built in and on by default. Google says the phone alerts you about "nearby earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 and above" using your approximate location, and you need Wi-Fi or mobile data on (Google). Check Settings, Safety & emergency, Earthquake alerts.

On the US West Coast the alerts come from ShakeAlert; elsewhere, phones' accelerometers act as "mini-seismometers" (Google Crisis Resilience). Be Aware alerts cover expected weak to light shaking (MMI 3 or 4), a newer Be Ready level adds a map of detected shaking, and Take Action (MMI 5+) takes over the screen.

On October 15, 2026, Google said it had expanded the system "from 98 countries and regions to more than 200" (Google blog). Check Google's help page for the list; when we looked, Japan wasn't on it. Google warns that "Not all earthquakes can be detected" and "you may receive an alert before, during, or after shaking begins".

Does the iPhone have earthquake alerts?

Yes, in some countries. Apple's Enhanced Safety Alerts are "available in the United States and Taiwan and require iOS 26.2 or later" (Apple). Earthquake Alerts come in two levels: an Awareness Alert when a quake is detected nearby, and a critical Action Alert when strong shaking is expected where you are. They're on by default under Settings, Notifications, Enhanced Safety Alerts. Apple delivers them over Wi-Fi and mobile data, separately from Wireless Emergency Alerts, so keep both on.

How does earthquake early warning work in Japan?

The Japan Meteorological Agency has run Earthquake Early Warning nationally since 1 October 2007 (JMA), giving "estimated seismic intensities and expected arrival time of principal motion" (JMA). On an iPhone in Japan, Apple says JMA and government earthquake and tsunami alerts arrive when you use a SIM or eSIM from a supported carrier, under Settings, Notifications, Emergency Alerts (Apple).

Is there earthquake warning where no official system exists?

Earthquake Network is a citizen-science project run by Futura Innovation SRL in Italy since 2012. It uses phone accelerometers to detect shaking and alerts smartphones in the affected area (Earthquake Network). Its App Store listing says "alerting all users can take up to 10 seconds", and it sells priority subscriptions. The iPhone app costs $1.99 on the US App Store (App Store). It's a private project, not a government service.

Which other services report a quake after it happens?

• USGS ENS sends free emails, or texts through your carrier's email-to-text. You choose the area and minimum size (USGS ENS).
• EMSC LastQuake is a free, ad-free app for Android and iOS focused on quakes people felt, with eyewitness reports (EMSC). Our guide was that an earthquake just now? covers how felt reports work.

Which earthquake alert app should you pick?

1. Everyone in a covered region: turn on your phone's built-in early warning first. It's free and already on your phone. - California, Oregon or Washington: keep Wireless Emergency Alerts and phone alerts on, and install MyShake. - Android elsewhere: confirm Earthquake alerts is on and your country is on Google's list. - iPhone in the US: update to iOS 26.2 or later. - Japan: keep Emergency Alerts on with a supported carrier. 2. For what happened and what's near you afterwards: GodsView. Check earthquakes near your city or every quake today, and add Plus alerts for family or a second home far away. 3. Email or text only: USGS ENS. 4. Felt reports from people nearby: EMSC LastQuake. 5. No official system where you are: Earthquake Network exists, with the limits above.

Why didn't I get an earthquake alert? Limits every system shares

• Near the epicentre, the alert may come late. USGS and JMA both say people close to the source can feel shaking before a warning arrives.
• Thresholds mean silence for small quakes. WEA needs M5.0+; phone alerts and apps need M4.5+. You can feel a quake that sends no warning.
• First estimates change. Magnitude and location are revised as data arrive; see how to read an earthquake map.
• When you get a warning or feel shaking, act first. USGS says "Drop, Cover, and Hold On". On a coast, the US Tsunami Warning Centers say not to wait for an official warning after strong shaking: move to high ground or inland (tsunami.gov).

Thresholds filter out most quakes. Our earthquakes today page, checked just before 01:00 UTC on November 6, 2026 (the evening of November 5 in the Americas), showed 27 quakes of M2.5 or more worldwide in the previous 24 hours. Only 9 reached M4.5, the lowest magnitude for ShakeAlert phone alerts. The largest was an M6.1 in the Fiji region. Outside the US, USGS coverage is complete only from about M4 to 4.5, so smaller local quakes may be missing.

For how GodsView sources and refreshes its data, see our methodology.

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