Introduction to Google Public Alerts
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Google Public Alerts is Google’s platform for disseminating emergency messages.
Common examples of alerts include weather-related warnings such as tropical
storms, floods, and tornadoes, as well as earthquakes and other public safety
event information. We aim to show relevant official weather, public safety and
earthquake alerts around the world on the Public
Alerts homepage,
www.google.org/publicalerts, when you
search on Google Search and Google Maps, and when you activate Google Now on
your Android device.
Google Public Alerts makes critical information more accessible during natural
disasters. It gets emergency information to the public at scale and visualizes
information in a way that makes it actionable. Send your alerts content to
Google to help ensure that people who are impacted get information about what’s
going on.
About this site
The site highlights the data that Google needs from you in order to display
Google Public Alerts, the steps required for you to prepare that data and share it
with Google, and the overall integration process.
Data is in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format,
which is a non-proprietary, industry standard specification designed for
transmitting alerts. The format defines how
to specify details of the alert, such as the targeted geographic area, effective
time, and expiration time, and how to update or cancel alerts.
Who can publish Google Public Alerts
Partners who publish a Google Public Alert must be:
- a public safety agency or a public alerts provider with information that
affects people’s life and property, and
- the original and authoritative author of the alert information OR have rights
from the original author to aggregate and/or distribute this information.
All meteorological agencies should register with the
WMO register of alerting authorities.
In the US, we also prefer for our partners to be a certified
IPAWS Public Alerting Authority.
Google Public Alerts integrations
Alerts data originate from our partners, and are integrated into Google Search,
Maps, and Now cards. Alerts include a description of the event, the geographical
area and timing of the event, and any possible actions that should be taken by
those who are affected by the event.
Google Search
Desktop and mobile searches trigger alerts when and where they are relevant
for our users.
The alerts information that you provide defines the area affected by an
emergency or warning condition, and the severity of the event.
Along with this information, factors that determine who will see the alert
include the user's query and the location of the user's device.
For example, a user who is outside the affected area described in the CAP
data may need to enter a more detailed search query to see the alert than a
user who is inside the affected area.
The alert results in a warning that the user can click through to find out
more information.
Google Maps
Google Maps displays geographic data to users on computers, tablets, and
mobile phones.
When searching an area in Maps on a desktop or a mobile app, nearby relevant
alerts for that area appear. The mobile app also provides location based
warning notifications for relevant alerts.
Google Now
Google Now provides active relevant alert notifications based on the device
location. Notifications include a description of what’s going on, the
affected area, and possible actions to take in order to stay safe.
How Google Public Alerts work
- Partners format their data in the industry standard Common Alerting Protocol
(CAP) format.
- Partners transmit the CAP formatted data in a feed.
- Google ingests the data and publishes it. Note that since the data format is
an industry standard, it can be provided to any downstream consumer that
supports the Common Alerting Protocol.
arrow_forward Get Started with Google Public Alerts
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-05-07 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-05-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Public Alerts delivers emergency messages, such as weather warnings and public safety information, through various Google platforms like Search, Maps, and Google Now.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe system uses the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format, an industry standard for transmitting alert data, ensuring broad compatibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003ePublic safety agencies and authorized alert providers can publish alerts on Google Public Alerts, provided they meet specific criteria regarding information authority.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Public Alerts integrates with Google products like Search, Maps, and Google Now, displaying relevant alerts based on user location and search queries, increasing visibility and accessibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe system operates by partners formatting data in CAP, transmitting it to Google, which then ingests and publishes the alerts for public consumption.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google Public Alerts disseminates emergency messages, including weather warnings and earthquake alerts, through Google Search, Maps, and Now. Partners, who must be official public safety agencies, provide data in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format. This data is transmitted in a feed, ingested by Google, and published. Alerts are triggered by user queries and location, displaying event descriptions, affected areas, and safety actions. The data format ensures broader accessibility to other platforms that support CAP.\n"],null,["# Introduction to Google Public Alerts\n\nGoogle Public Alerts is Google's platform for disseminating emergency messages.\nCommon examples of alerts include weather-related warnings such as tropical\nstorms, floods, and tornadoes, as well as earthquakes and other public safety\nevent information. We aim to show relevant official weather, public safety and\nearthquake alerts around the world on the Public\nAlerts homepage,\n[www.google.org/publicalerts](http://www.google.org/publicalerts), when you\nsearch on Google Search and Google Maps, and when you activate Google Now on\nyour Android device.\n\nGoogle Public Alerts makes critical information more accessible during natural\ndisasters. It gets emergency information to the public at scale and visualizes\ninformation in a way that makes it actionable. Send your alerts content to\nGoogle to help ensure that people who are impacted get information about what's\ngoing on.\n\nAbout this site\n---------------\n\nThe site highlights the data that Google needs from you in order to display\nGoogle Public Alerts, the steps required for you to prepare that data and share it\nwith Google, and the overall integration process.\nData is in the [Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format](http://docs.oasis-open.org/emergency/cap/v1.2/CAP-v1.2-os.html),\nwhich is a non-proprietary, industry standard specification designed for\ntransmitting alerts. The format defines how\nto specify details of the alert, such as the targeted geographic area, effective\ntime, and expiration time, and how to update or cancel alerts.\n\nWho can publish Google Public Alerts\n------------------------------------\n\nPartners who publish a Google Public Alert must be:\n\n- a public safety agency or a public alerts provider with information that affects people's life and property, and\n- the original and authoritative author of the alert information OR have rights from the original author to aggregate and/or distribute this information.\n\nAll meteorological agencies should register with the\n[WMO register of alerting authorities](https://alertingauthority.wmo.int/).\nIn the US, we also prefer for our partners to be a certified\n[IPAWS Public Alerting Authority](http://www.fema.gov/alerting-authorities).\n\nGoogle Public Alerts integrations\n---------------------------------\n\nAlerts data originate from our partners, and are integrated into Google Search,\nMaps, and Now cards. Alerts include a description of the event, the geographical\narea and timing of the event, and any possible actions that should be taken by\nthose who are affected by the event. \n\n### Google Search\n\nDesktop and mobile searches trigger alerts when and where they are relevant\nfor our users.\nThe alerts information that you provide defines the area affected by an\nemergency or warning condition, and the severity of the event.\nAlong with this information, factors that determine who will see the alert\ninclude the user's query and the location of the user's device.\nFor example, a user who is outside the affected area described in the CAP\ndata may need to enter a more detailed search query to see the alert than a\nuser who is inside the affected area.\n\nThe alert results in a warning that the user can click through to find out\nmore information. \n\n### Google Maps\n\n\nGoogle Maps displays geographic data to users on computers, tablets, and\nmobile phones.\n\n\nWhen searching an area in Maps on a desktop or a mobile app, nearby relevant\nalerts for that area appear. The mobile app also provides location based\nwarning notifications for relevant alerts. \n\n### Google Now\n\n\nGoogle Now provides active relevant alert notifications based on the device\nlocation. Notifications include a description of what's going on, the\naffected area, and possible actions to take in order to stay safe.\n\nHow Google Public Alerts work\n-----------------------------\n\n1. Partners format their data in the industry standard Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format.\n2. Partners transmit the CAP formatted data in a feed.\n3. Google ingests the data and publishes it. Note that since the data format is an industry standard, it can be provided to any downstream consumer that supports the Common Alerting Protocol.\n\n**[arrow_forward Get Started with Google Public Alerts](/public-alerts/guides/get-started)**"]]
