[00:00.00]
[00:00.62]Google has launched a communications system that uses the company's Android phones to detect earthquakes. 
[00:12.10]It aims to provide timely information about earthquakes to phones that run the mobile operating system.
[00:22.44]The new warning system has already been tested in California, which has more damaging quakes than any other part of the United States. 
[00:35.21]To develop the system, the company worked with the US Geological Survey¡ªUSGS¡ªa federal agency that uses seismographic equipment to measure earthquake activity.
[00:53.72]Technology for predicting earthquakes does not yet exist. But the USGS says it does have equipment to predict seismic activity near a quake. 
[01:08.98]This means it is possible to warn people in areas where such activity is expected. People could then get several seconds or perhaps up to a minute of warning before a quake strikes.