earthquake

This is the city that linked China with the Mediterranean that one day an earthquake hid from the world

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If there is a historical myth in archeology, it is finding the lost city of Atlantis. However, throughout history a few have been found: from that of Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt to the Greek of Pavlopetri passing through Port Royal in Jamaica. None are Atlantis (in fact, for numerous historians and scientists It’s more of a philosophical allegory of Plato than something real), but the last city that has just been found, far from typical places like the Atlantic, has quite a few similarities. Of course, it is in a lake in Kyrgyzstan. The lost city of Issyk-Kul. More specifically, it was in the northwestern waters of Lake Issyk-Kul that an international archaeological expedition organized by the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic stumbled upon Toru-Aygyr, as reports the news of the SGR. For the investigation they used underwater drones and high-precision diving. The legends were true. Around the Issyk-Kul lake run several popular legends about its formation submerging a city that already existed, something that was historically reinforced by the local rumor that when the weather is good and the water is calm, remains of the city can be seen. Likewise, within the Catalan Atlas of the Mallorcan cartographer Cresques Abraham it is recorded on a map the existence of a monastery where were the remains of San Mateo. This lake has been one of the obsessions of the historian and archaeologist Vladimir Ploskikh, behind the aforementioned discovery. Satellite view from 1992. Wikimedia But what a lake. Issyk-Kul is a truly fascinating lake without having to resort to myths: its name in Russian and Kyrgyz is “hot lake” and it has merit being 1,609 meters high. The secret is How deep it is (average 270 meters, maximum 702 meters), it is slightly salty and subsoil geothermal activity. Is the second largest alpine lake in the worldonly surpassed by Titicaca and one of its peculiarities is its transparency: its visibility is such that it can be seen up to 20 meters deep in favorable conditions. The icing on the cake is that there is evidence that there the black plague began. Vilya Shoni,. Wikimedia A most advanced city. Finding a submerged city is not unusual, but among the peculiarities of Toru-Aygyr is that its ruins are in shallow waters and the good state of conservation of its constructions, with solid stone structures, clay bricks and even wooden beams. In addition, they reveal that it was an advanced infrastructure, with public buildings, brick homes and irrigation systems. More specifically, they identified remains from a medieval cemetery, large ceramic containers, pieces of a mill, an architectural element that points to the decoration of a building such as a mosque, a bath or a madrasa. After checking with archival materials, the team confirmed that they were looking at a city that handled silk, spices and metals in the transfer of these goods between China and the Mediterranean from the 2nd century BC to the mid-15th century. Stick with the final date, we’ll come back to it later. Elizaveta Romashkina. Russian Geographical Society. It is the missing link of the silk road. As concludes researcher at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan and head of the Kyrgyz expedition, Valery Kolchenko: “The monument we are studying is a city or a large commercial agglomeration located on one of the key sections of the Silk Road.” During the investigation, they found a second site corresponding to a Muslim necropolis from the 13th–14th centuries that still preserves vestiges of traditional Islamic rituals, a third with remains of medieval ceramics, a large entire vessel (khum) and more burials. Finally, a fourth location located in the western part, of which remains of structures remain. The team’s idea is to return to continue analyzing everything, but for now the remains already say a lot about the relevance of the enclave, which Chinese historical sources record, such as explains the head of the expedition, Maksim Menshikov. Why did it sink? aka the Pompeii effect. The presence of large ceramic vessels and millstones in their original positions reveals that the city was abandoned abruptly, without subsequent looting. Kolchenko clears us of doubts: it was an earthquake. “At the beginning of the 15th century, as a result of a terrible earthquake, the city was submerged under the waters of the lake. According to our assessment, at the time of the disaster the inhabitants had already abandoned the settlement. The tragedy can be compared to the story of Pompeii, although it is much less known to the general public.” After the earthquake, he explains that the region’s population drastically changed how they lived, going from a prosperous medieval urban civilization to nomads. This large earthquake caused the lake’s water level to suddenly rise, swallowing the city. The water enveloped the city in mud and sand, protecting it from erosion and exposure to oxygen. It is not Atlantis nor does it need to be. It goes without saying that Toru-Aygyr is not the mythical Atlantis, but comparing it is inevitable due to the legends that surround it, the records that remain of its existence over the centuries in different civilizations and of course, the large amount of treasures found and its prosperity: there lived an advanced, rich and living city that disappeared one day under the waters. In Xataka | The Atlantic has a ‘Lost City’ with the key to life on other planets. Now it’s in danger In Xataka | Eastern Atlantis: this is the lost continent that united Greece and Anatolia 35 million years ago Cover | Mikhail Preobrazhenskiy and Elizaveta Romashkina from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

In 2021, BBC released a video about China causing an earthquake. Now it’s a meme that glorifies Chinese cities

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Trends on social networks are, in many cases, inexplicable. Overnight something goes viral and it’s easy for us to not even know where it came from. In the summer of 2025, chinese networks began what from the West we could see as a simple memeeven nonsense: many videos that show panoramic views of Chinese cities to the rhythm of the mythical BBC intro. This meme spread and is useful for observing some of the most impressive cities in the world from a drone view. There are even users commenting on how some cities, like Chongqing, had undergone a radical transformation in just 20 years. The videos, without a doubt, are impressive and there is a example after other…and after other. But behind the meme there is something much more interesting: an outbreak of international conflict because of… the BBC. BBC News countdown intro style meme continues in China. Below in order is for Guiyang, Nanjing, Jinhua and Jieyang. https://t.co/EKZopt48Pc pic.twitter.com/LhjHVATMKW — JR Urbane Network (@JRUrbaneNetwork) September 1, 2025 The BBC video that angered 1 billion people In February 2021, the world was still reeling from the aftermath of COVID-19. Wuhan, the Chinese city identified as the focus of the global pandemic, was a monitoring point for world news due to the government’s policies to fight the virus. And the BBC published its controversial ‘How everyday life has changed in Wuhan’. It’s this video: Up to this point, we might think that it is just another report, but they published it in duplicate. The one above is the international version, in English. The one I leave you below is the version for China: Have you noticed any difference? Let’s go with some screenshots: International version Chinese version International version Chinese version International version Chinese version International version Chinese version Already we saw it in Xataka back in the day: The international version has a gray filter, while the Chinese version shows more vivid colors. That, without us realizing it, creates a narrative. And those who did notice were some Chinese Internet users and the state media Global Times. Chinese social networks named the filter used in the international version as “underworld filter” or “gloom filter”but the one who gave it the most importance was the aforementioned state tabloid. He accused the BBC of adding greyish filters to its reporting on China to make the country appear dystopian and polluted. It did not stop there: the matter spread like wildfire on networks and the tension escalated to the point that the international broadcast of BBC World News was banned in China that same month. In fact, international spokespersons have on occasion used the hashtag #GloomFilter to criticize Western coverage of China. The BBC defended its editorial independence, rejecting accusations of bias, but both the BBC and Chinese media have since starred cross attacks. A lot has rained since 2021 and, as I pointed out at the beginning of the article, it is now meme stuff. The BBC intro accompanies luminous images of Chinese cities without the “underworld filter.” And it is an example of how something that, at first glance, may be a story without much history, hides much more. And, well, the story of Global Times throwing darts at the BBC did not end in 2021, but has lasted until recently, mentioning that “BBC has become one of the most destructive negative examples in the global media landscape.” But beyond all this, the truth is that the videos are impressive, showing dystopian cities in some cases. Images | BBC In Xataka | China loves Europe so much that it has built its own: these are the replica cities that populate the country

Google and Epic Games propose a historic agreement that is an earthquake for the Play Store

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The long and costly legal war between Epic Games and Googlewhich began in 2020, is about to end. Both companies have jointly submitted an agreement proposal and a modified court order which, if approved, not only resolves all its disputes, but also redraws the rules of the Android app store for the coming years. Chronology. To understand why Google has agreed, you have to rewind. After a long trial, a jury ruled in favor of Epic in 2023, declaring that Google’s Play Store operated as an illegal monopoly. Based on that verdict, Judge Donato issued a harsh court order a year later. This forced Google to open its ecosystem and included allowing third-party stores within the Play Store itself. In addition, it prohibited Google from tying its billing system to the store, and allowing developers to link to external payments. Braking attempt. Google immediately appealed, warning that the changes would harm the “security and privacy” of users. On October 18, 2024, the judge granted the Mountain View giant a temporary suspension while the appeal was being resolved. It was just a momentary respite. Surrender. After losing appeals, the US Supreme Court rejected Google’s latest request for a suspension. This reactivated the original court ordergiving the company an imminent deadline that ended on October 22. It had to start dismantling its control over the Android software store. Image by Official GDC on Flickr New agreement. Faced with the obligation to comply with a sentence that it hated, Google has negotiated a lesser evil. This new agreement, which was presented yesterday, replaces the original order with agreed rules that will be in force until June 30, 2032. Tim Sweeney himself, CEO of Epic, rated it X as an “impressive” and “comprehensive solution.” These were the words of Sameer Samat, the president of Android, who also reacted to the news: Together with Epic Games, we have proposed changes for Android and Google Play that focus on expanding developer choice and flexibility, reducing fees, and encouraging greater competition, all while ensuring user safety. If approved, this would resolve our disputes. We hope to continue discussing the issue with the judge on Thursday. The agreement details a new maximum commission structure. Google will not be able to charge more than 20% for in-game purchases that offer advantages (such as loot boxes or improvements). For everything else, the maximum commission will be 9%. On the other hand, the developers they win the right to display their own payment systems with Play Billing. Additionally, they will be able to show different (i.e. cheaper) prices if the user chooses the alternative payment. However, the Big Tech will continue to charge your “service fee”– Even if a developer uses its payment platform, Google reserves the right to charge the service fee (the 20% or 9% mentioned). According to media such as The Vergea Google spokesperson clarified that the developer saves the billing fee (cost of processing the payment), but not the service fee. Global impact. Although the court order is limited to the US, this change to the Android operating system will have a global impact. This opens the door for third-party stores—such as the one that Epic announced with Telefónica— can be installed without any friction. Without forgetting that this pact also prohibits Google (for three years) from making payments to manufacturers or operators to pre-install competing stores or to not place them in specific places on the device. What’s coming now. The agreement is not final: it must be approved by the judge. Both parties have a hearing scheduled for this Thursday, November 6, to discuss the proposal. We’ll see how it ends, but it seems that the final agreement will not be very different from this one. Cover image | Composition with images of Sergey Galyonkin for Flickr and Xataka Android In Xataka | Google has put AI summaries where there used to be links to news. And the media is bleeding

The good news for Russia is that the earthquake occurred in a remote area. The bad is that he concentrated his nuclear submarines

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Yesterday we woke up with the news of A historical earthquake In an area of the planet that you had not heard in life. Makes sense, Kamchatka It is located at the easiest end of the Russian Eastern Eastern region, such an inhospitable place that has a “good” side of history: we had to tell human casualties in Russia. However, and due precisely to its geographical situation, that is where Moscow keeps part of Its nuclear arsenal. The epicenter of Russian underwater power. Yes, the Magnitude 8.8 earthquake who shook Kamchatka’s peninsula, one of the more powerful registered In modern history, he has put one of Russia’s most sensitive military facilities under the international focus: the naval bases of Avacha Bay. The movement, which generated tsunami waves in the Pacific and coincided with the eruption of the klyuchevskaya sopka volcanothere was only 100 kilometers from the heart of Russian nuclear deterrent power in the Far East. Although the Moscow authorities assure that There are no fatalities No serious damage, doubts revolve around the real state of Rybachiy, the main base of Russian strategic submarinesand from the Naval Complex of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Rybachiy: the bastion of nuclear deterrence. The Rybachiy base It houses the backbone of the underwater strategic fleet of Russia in the Pacific Ocean: The SSBN of the Borei and Borei-A classsuccessors of Ancient Deltacapable of carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear heads. This installation, complemented by shipyards and missile load springs, represents a Central Piece of the Triad Russian nuclear, designed to guarantee the ability to retaliate in case of global conflict. In the area they also operate advanced attack submarines, like Yasen-M (indicated by the United States as one of the main threats under water), in addition to Oscar units and other submersibles of nuclear or conventional propulsion. The vulnerability of these assets in the face of extreme natural phenomena now generates serious unknowns. The Belgorod factor and the possesson weapon. To uncertainty is added the fact that Russia plans to move to Mysterious K-329 Belgorod To this same base. This submarine, the longest in the world, is a deep version Modified of the Oscar II class conceived to transport intercontinental nuclear torpedoes Poseidona strategic system also baptized as Status-6, designed to mock defenses and generate radioactive tsunamis. In addition, Belgorod is designed for underwater intelligence missions and undercover operations. The mere possibility that it would be in Avacha Bay during the earthquake The strategic interest of the natural catastrophe. Immediate technical risks and facilities. At the moment there is no clear evidence of damage to infrastructure or docked units. Bay’s own geography could have acted As a natural shield against the impact of the waves. However, they pointed out the Twz analysts that even minor variations of the sea level can cause critical problems: from submarines, violently hitting their ties (incidents known as Allision) until the entry of water in open gates or in ships subjected to maintenance. The robustness of the facilities, built with the hypothesis of an attack Nuclear in mind, reinforces the thesis that the damage has been limited, but does not completely eliminate uncertainty. The problem of concentrating a point. Beyond the punctual situation, the earthquake It exposes a structural dilemma: the risk of concentrating a substantial part of the Russian nuclear deterrence in a confined geographical enclave. The Avacha Baywith its shipyards, arsenals and strategic units, it constitutes a critical objective both from the military and natural point of view. The threat of an enemy attack was planned in design of the bases, but not that of a seismic phenomenon of historical magnitudescapable of questioning the safety of a key piece of the Russian nuclear triad. Strategic implications. In the background, the episode demonstrates how the stability of the world nuclear arsenal can depend on unpredictable natural factors. A single earthquake, in Second issueyou can compromise operability of strategic submarines whose function is to ensure the balance of nuclear terror. The fact that Kamchatka combines geological vulnerabilities With military assets In addition, the fragility inherent in global deterrence systems reveals. The international community, and especially the rival nuclear powers, will carefully observe the reports that emerge from Moscow, aware that nature, unlike strategic calculations, is impossible to deter. Image | Russian Ministry of Defense In Xataka | Iceland has a key Atlantic corridor for Russia. So the US has sent its first nuclear submarine In Xataka | A British nuclear submarine has discovered a Russian ship in front of its submarine cables. The second time in three months

The earthquake has revived the fear of a new Fukushima. This time, nuclear power plants are armed to teeth

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The red tsunami alert issued on the coast of Japan after a strong earthquake in Russia has served as a raw reminder of the 2011 disaster. Japanese televisions cut their usual programming to show an unequivocal order in capital letters: “Tsunami! Evacuate!“The message, shouted in unison by the presenters, resonated with those of 14 years ago. But this time, the nuclear power plants were much better prepared. Context. For millions of Japanese, The scene that was lived this Wednesday It was too familiar. The collective memory immediately returned to March 11, 2011, when an earthquake of magnitude 9 unleashed a tsunami that not only charged about 20,000 lives, but caused the worst nuclear accident of the 21st century in the Fukushima central. Yesterday, the workers of the own Fukushima plant They suspended their tasks and evacuated the nuclear power plant towards higher land, knowing that nuclear safety has suffered a radical transformation. The global nuclear industry not only learned Fukushima’s lessons: it made them concrete, steel and new protocols on an unprecedented scale. The turning point. To understand the magnitude of the changes, we must remember what exactly failed in Fukushima-Daiichi. The disaster It was not caused directly by the earthquakebut for the tsunami that followed. Waves of up to 15 meters far exceeded the containment wall of the plant, flooding the emergency diesel generators and cutting all the plant power of the plant. Without capacity to refrigerate reactors, Three of the nuclei merged. The lesson was brutal: the security margins, designed for probable events, were insufficient before an extreme event. Fukushima was a global attention call that unleashed a regulatory and technical revolution. The paradigm shift is summarized in moving from a probabilist approach (designing for what is expected) to a total resilience (being ready for the unexpected). Not only in Japan. Immediately after the accident, regulators around the world launched A thorough review of its facilities, creating international frames to ensure that the lessons learned will be applied everywhere. China and the United States They promoted strategies so that all nuclear power plants can support an indefinite loss of energy. In Europe, all plants passed Stress tests against earthquakes, floods and total loss of security systems, forcing each country to implement a national action plan in case of finding defects. Gravelines, the largest nuclear power plant in France, reinforced his dike and added new gates Mobile Concrete and steel. Japanese centrals have been working like none, investing billions of dollars. They sealed all possible water input routes with stagnant doors, installed high capacity Achique pumps and built higher walls. Onagawa, the central closest to the 2011 epicenter, survived thanks to its 14 -meter wall. After Fukushima’s accident, the Tohoku Electric Power energy company did not walk with little girls and built A new 2 meter high dikealmost like a 10 -story building. Hamooka raised his breakwater 22 meters above sea leveland relocated the emergency diesel generators in a hill at 25 meters high. Tokai-2 raised A slope 1.7 kilometers longprepared to resist a wave of 17.1 meters. The reactors of the future. These lessons have also moved to the new designs of third and fourth generation reactors, including compact modular reactors (SMR), which incorporate them as standard. The AP1000 and its Chinese CAP-1000 derivative They can keep safe for 72 hours without any human intervention or external energy thanks to passive cooling systems that work by gravity and convection. The European EPR-2 includes double containment, a filtered vent system and A “Core-Catcher” Designed to contain the molten nucleus in the hypothetical case of an accident. And the Nuscale or the BWRX-300 of Gen-Hitachi can be installed as underground reactors, which makes them intrinsically immune to tsunamis and other surface disasters. A safer world. Wednesday’s Tsunami alert is a reminder that we are still at the mercy of nature. But also an opportunity to verify that, in the 14 years that have passed since Fukushima, the defenses of nuclear power plants have become a real fortress. The 2011 disaster was not in vain. Image | IAEA In Xataka | People did not take the drills seriously, so Japan found something much more effective: video game drills

After the earthquake of Russia, evacuations and alerts extend through the Pacific for fear of something much worse: waves

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With the still recent memory of what happened in March 2011, when a Powerful earthquake Registered in front of the Japanese coasts, it generated a tsunami and sowed the destruction, with thousands of victims and missing, in Japan and Russia they look at the ocean with tension. And they are not the only ones. The reason: Another powerful earthquakeof magnitude 8.8, has shaken the ground of the Kamchatka Kraiat the east end of Russia, and unleashed the fear for the waves it can generate in the Pacific. In just a few hours that has resulted in alert messages, evacuations and authorities asking the population to stay away from the coasts. What happened? That the ground has trembled in Russia. And with violence. In the last hours the US Geological Service registered an earthquake from Magnitude 8.8 at the east end of Russia. More specifically the tremor broke out At 23.25 h GMT (two more in peninsular Spain), with epicenter 126 kilometers southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskyin the Kamchatka Krai, in the north of the Pacific, and a depth of around 19.3 km. In some areas of the region they soon registered waves between three and four meters high. Has it been serious? Sergei Lebedev, the head of the emergency department in the region, He explained That the earthquake has left some injured, although for now, as confirmed to the Russian agency Tass, there seems to be none of gravity. It is not bad balance if the power of the earthquake is taken into account, of magnitude 8.8. The governor of Kamchatka has recognized that the earthquake was “serious” and “the strongest in decades”, which explains that the tremor causes the collapse of part of the facade of a nursery. “Before July 31, a list of buildings will be developed that will undergo instrumental inspection. The general evaluation of material damage will be ready in a week,” Point out The governor of the region, Vladimir Solodov. In its telegram channel, the Unified Geophysical Service of Russia has confirmed that it is the greatest earthquake since 1952 in Kamchatka (in November of that year there was another tremor of Magnitude 9 which generated important material damage and caused waves of several meters in Hawaii) and the sixth most intense globally since 1900. What reactions has generated? Fear. And caution. Since the earthquake was produced by authorities from different countries and regions bathed by the Pacific, from Russia to Chile or the United States, passing through Japan or the Philippines, have reacted with different degrees of alert, depending on the type of waves they expect. One of the most forceful responses has probably given Japan, where alert sirens have already been heard and seen to the Hokkaido coast residents Uploaded to roofs When the initial waves of the Tsunami, 30 centimeters arrived. The authorities have ordered the evacuation of the east coast of the country, punished in 2011, and required more than 900,000 people of 133 municipalities of the Pacific coast that leave their homes. Some sources They raise the population that has received evacuation orders or alerts to about two million. Have you done anything else? Yes. On the island of Hokkaido, an evacuation order of 5 out of 5the highest level, which affects about 10,500 citizens of the town of Urakawa, and the alert has spread to prefectures such as Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Mie or Miyagi, among others. In some regions waves of up to three meters are expected. With that backdrop, public transport has been altered at some points and the authorities They have evacuated to the workers of the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was already affected by the tsamot of 2011. And beyond Japan? Russia and Japan are not the only ones who have activated emergency measure. The United States Tsunamis Alert Center has warned of the risk of waves of more than three meters in the Hawaii archipelago and between one and three on the island of Guam. Before Panorama the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, has declared The state of emergency and ordered evacuations in areas of the coast, which has even derived in traffic jams. In the islands they have also enabled shelters in schools, hotels or community centers. It is not the only American territory that looks at the Pacific. The National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has also transferred the alert to some parts of Alaska and follows the situation on the east coast of the country, such as California. “Keep strong already except!” I exhort Donald Trump. Are there more countries on alert? Yes. In Chile President Gabriel Boric He has recognized That, “for now, we have Tsunami alert for the entire coast” on Wednesday. “The protocol is to evacuate three hours before the estimation of arrival of the wave,” he said. In China the tsunamis alert center He has warned also of the possibility of receiving waves of between 30 and 40 cm in Zhejiang and Shanghai and Peru has activated Also alert in his coast. Ecuador has even gone further to order the eviction of the Galapagos Islands, “which implies the suspension of maritime activities and eviction of beaches, docks and low areas.” The list adds and continues with organisms from different nations that ask for caution in different points of the Pacific. In Mexico the Semar has issued an alert For the country’s coast bathed by that ocean after the Kamchatka earthquake and has asked its population to remain away from the beaches and warn of strong currents. Images | USGS, NOAA and X In Xataka | Tsunami’s alert is leading people to get on the roofs of Japan. It is a good idea, but only at the beginning

An earthquake has shaken the coast of Almeria. And Middle Andalusia has learned thanks to Google

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An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 located in Almeria waters has shaken multiple locations Andalusians in Almería, Granada, Jaén and areas of the Spanish Levante such as Murcia. Along with it, thousands of Android mobile users have received an unknown notification to date: a directly related to the detection of farms. The earthquake. According to information from National Geographic Instituteat 7:13 a.m. on July 14, there has been an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 to two kilometers deep in the corporal of sticks, having special incidence in populations of the Andalusian coast. The consequent replicas have lasted until 8:49, with intensities of 3.4 and 2.7. Local media They report that at the moment there have been no consequences of gravity, ensuring the 112 that “no damage to the region has been notified by the earthquake.” The message. Virtually immediately, Android phones have issued an automatic notification to thousands of phones through Google Play services. This alert is framed within the Google seismic detection system, Shakealert. In it, the estimated magnitude of the earthquake is noticed as well as recommended practices to keep us safe in earthquake cases. Through a map, both the time and distance from the earthquake are shown, with the possibility of consulting the latest updates through the same section. How it works. Google’s Seísos alert System It is more than curious. In the United States (California, Washington and Oregon) uses a network of 1675 seismic sensors to detect tremors and earthquakes. Outside these territories, the seismographs are our own phones through the accelerometer. If a phone detects movement changes that can be interpreted as an earthquake, send a signal to the Google server. At that time, the server combines this signal with that of other phones to try to find out if an earthquake is taking place. In case of determining what is taking place, an alert is sent on two levels. The key to using this system is that it works predictively. In fact, Google warns that these notifications can reach even before the earthquake occurs. The alerts. The network of more than 2,000 million Android devices, according to Google, acts as a minisismographers front capable of giving precise data on the earthquake. In the event that the alert is of 4.5 or higher scale (in MMI scale, no Richter, here is measured in surface perceived, not energy released from the epicenter), a strong sound alarm is sent ignoring the modes not to disturb and lighting the screen. If the alert is of lower magnitude, such as the one lived today, only an informative notification is sent. What about Es-alert. The doubts that have assaulted upon receiving the alarm have to do with the alternative system we have in Spain: Es-alert. Here we have a system with three levels of alert and civil protection as in charge of sending the notification through Cell Broadcast (radio emission without having active mobile data). System Who detects Who sends the alert How the alert is sent You need Internet connection Android Earthquake Alerts System Android phones themselves, through their sensors Google Push notifications Yeah es-alert National Geographic Institute (IGN) Civil defense Radio emission (Cell Broadcast) No In this case, Es-Alert has not worked. The system is active, working, and detecting cases Like fire in Tarragonabut it is Civil Protection who determines the supposed severity of the phenomenon and whether or not notification is to be sent. The legal framework. A Law 17/2015, of July 9, of the National Civil Protection System determines that only the competent authorities can issue official alerts: Civil Protection, Aemet, IGN or the communities and municipalities themselves. Private companies cannot issue official alerts … but they can send private notifications that do not violate any law. That Android informs you about a possible earthquake It does not differ too much than the time app I inform you that it is raining in your area. Google notices do not supply these official notification systems, act as an informative complement to the official framework. Here the debate enters into the own responsibility of a private company to alert the population of a gravity event as an “unofficial” earthquake. One that clashes with the slowness (or direct inactivity according to circumstances) of national systems in specific cases like this. Image | Xataka In Xataka | The ghost of the earthquakes returns to Lisbon: how a savage earthquake in 1755 took the entire city ahead

We are increasingly sure that Mars hides a lot of water underground. The last track has been given to us an earthquake

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There was a remote time in which Mars, today desert, had rivers and seas. We know some of the remnants that have remained, such as the Jezero river delta that explores the Rover Perseverance But that water may have been more than mere traces. A lot more. New tests. A geological study conducted thanks to the propagation of seismic waves on the red planet has obtained new evidence of the existence of water on Mars. Although the study itself does not imply a definitive test, it joins the list of studies that indicate that the neighboring planet is not as dry as it seems. A wet past. The Martian oceans had a short duration In geological terms. According to estimates, these would have disappeared between 4,100 and 3,000 million years ago (our solar system has about 4.6 billion years), in periods called Noeic and Hesperic. The lower gravitational attraction and the lack of a magnetic field that protect the Martian seas of the solar wind left Mars without superficial oceans. But from that water there was more than a handful of marks in the geography of the red planet: the water in solid state lasts ice -shaped either Integrated into its minerals. The enigma of the missing water. Some researchers detected a problem, and it is the difficulty that the sum of evaporated water, frozen or embedded in minerals could represent the total water that was once on Mars, they explain In an article for The conversation Hrvoje Tkalčić and Weijia Sun, co -authors of the recent geological study on water on Mars. Insight, to the rescue. In his recent study, the team took advantage of the data captured by the seismometer that the probe Insight He kept operating on Mars during his activity. During this period, Mars suffered an earthquake and received the impact of several meteorites, events whose seismic waves were recorded by the instrument aboard the now deceased probe. Studying the spread of these leads, the team identified an “anomaly” in a layer of the Martian subsoil located between 5.4 and 8 kilometers under the surface. It is a “low speed layer” that, according to the hypothesis proposed by the equipment would correspond to a layer of porous rock stuffed with water, “like a saturated sponge” or “something similar to the aquifers of the earth.” A lot of water. This layer could hide a significant amount of water, enough to house the water that dfalta in the accounts of the experts. “We have calculated that the ‘aquífera’ in Mars could house enough water to cover the planet in a global ocean of a depth of between 520 and 780 m, several times more water that keeps the Antarctic ice layer.” The details of the study will be published In an article In the magazine National Science Reviewbut for now we have to settle for a draft. Tests accumulate. This It is not the first time that we get evidence of the existence of vast amounts of water in the Martian subsoil. A little over a year agoa study conducted from the data of the European probe Mars Express reached a similar conclusion, that of the existence of huge amounts of water, enough to create an ocean of several hundred meters deep, in the Martian subsoil. In Xataka | We had little doubt that Mars was a habitable planet. The Curiosity Rover has just cleared them Image | POT/GSFC

The delay of ‘GTA VI’ goes far beyond a mere change in the calendar. It is an earthquake for industry

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Not as expected, the Delay in the launch of ‘GTA VI‘He has stopped causing a stir in the video game industry. Rockstar’s title was announced in the Already distant December 5, 2023 With a trailer that gave us clues of where the shots would go, but that left us wanting more after the launch of a ‘gta v’ that dates back to 2013. In its first version. ‘GTA VI‘It was the great launch of 2025 and its absence is much more than the delay of one of the greats. It is an earthquake in the industry because it affects the rest of the calendarto the actions of your parent company and even console sales that do not go as they should. Momentum. In a strange way, on Friday, May 2, at 13.25 peninsular time in Spain and with a release Bug, Rockstar confirmed what was smelled to kilometers: ‘GTA VI’ was going to 2026. The company sets date: May 26 next year, and it is a fairly significant date, not so much because it represents something, but because the rest of the industry breathes relieved and knows what to stick to. But despite the ways, the way of communicating that ‘GTA VI’ will not be launched this year is not accidental. From the first 2023 trailer and that “will arrive in 2025”, we had not had more news about it. ‘GTA VI’ would sell even without advertising, but it was strange not to have seen anything else from the game. The players knew in the background that the game may not leave this year, and Rockstar itself knew it before that announcement. Why did he do so? Because we are in the middle of the year and they could not do it before April 1. Impact. It was that day that finished Take-Two’s fiscal closure, a company that Rockstar Games is filial and could not announce in any way that the game was delayed if they wanted to keep investors happy. For sample, a button: The value of the actions: The difference between half an hour prior to the announcement and later days is evident. Because, as we said, ‘Grand Theft Auto’ has long since stopped being a game to become the game, the one that raises passions and moves a lot, a lot of money. Not surprisingly, the fifth delivery has been released several times (in 2013 the original arrived for Xbox 360 and PS3but then relaunted for PC, Xbox One and PS4 and, later, for current Xbox Series and PS5), adding More than 210 million copies as of December 31, 2024. 2025 is again in the menu. Even ‘Red Dead Redemption 2‘, which is a game that has sold well below’ GTA V ‘, has managed to place more than 70 million copies since its launch in 2018, a barbarity in a supersaturated market. Because, as we say, Rockstar is a company that can paralyze the industry. So much that it has become a kind of joke within the sector. Because nobody wants to launch their game in the window of a ‘GTA’ and, after those sales of the fifth numbered delivery, the industry was waiting for Rockstar to specify a date -beyond the window given a year ago– To start moving marketing machinery. This, more than a personal appreciation, has been a recurring comment on networks these days. An example is Luke Dale, voice actor in ‘Kingdom eats Deliverance 2‘That he joked with the possibility that the game in which he participates, now, can opt for the Goty (the best game of the year) in the absence of the Rockstar title. Console sales. But, beyond public and private opinion of the sector, it is a fact that players have no money or time for everything. They are the two goods that the industry seeks to monopolize by all possible means, and the launch of a ‘GTA’ is a large black hole for the rest of the companies that, now, can place their games in the launch windows they estimate without worrying about the elongated shadow of the rockstar saga. But there are entities in the industry to which this sure delay that has not fallen so well. Xbox stopped being in the hardware race with Any device can be an Xbox. PlayStation, a brand traditionally linked to the ‘GTA’ saga, would surely have many hopes that the new installment gave both its PS5 and a Ps5 pro With more power to display the best visual quality of the video game. HE esteem That, between January 1 and April 25, Sony has distributed 3.2 million machines. Xbox, meanwhile, 730,000 consoles in that period and, although especially in the case of Sony is a good figure, It supposes One million units than those he managed to place in the same period last year. ‘GTA VI’ seemed like a breath of fresh air, especially when there are already rumors that point to A PS6 in 2027. 2025 was never realistic. At least, that states Jason Schreier. It is one of the most reputed journalists in the video game industry and, just after the announcement of the delay of ‘GTA VI’, he commented that none of the people he has talked about within Rockstar trusted 2025 as a viable date for the launch and that a delay to 2026 was inevitable. In their wordsthere is “a lot of work and very little time”, and this delay was an internal desire to Avoid a crunch -Term of the world that reflects extra hours to finish the development- inevitable if someone from above intended to launch the game in 2025. Now, it only remains to wait to see if that date of May 26, 2026 remains fixed, since like other developments – of Rockstar itself – they have shown us, it is that no date is marked in stone and that there can be one … or even two more delays from there. In Xataka | A ‘GTA VI’ I only ask … Read more

A new earthquake in the console market

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Yesterday we discovered Nintendo Switch 2 at the same time as the rest of the world: in the Direct of an hour with which Nintendo revealed the details of his new hybrid console. But immediately afterwards, a group of journalists from all over Europe met in Paris to try the machine. We could taste a good amount of gamesand also have the console in our hands. And then we tell you our first impressions of Nintendo Switch 2. Design and Screen, News Welcome The first game we had the opportunity to try was the ‘Mario Kart World‘, and after a game with the new Pro command (virtually identical to Switch, but with a C button that activates the chat), we had the opportunity to weigh the console itself. Although the changes are very scarce, the redesign shows: the thickness is the same, but the largest size (without having the weight, sometimes uncomfortable, of a portable type PC Steam Deck) makes it more comfortable. Larger sticks They will have their defenders and detractors: we were easier to handle. On the other hand, we have the panel. The improvement on the screen accompanies the renewed power of the console. It is easier to perceive improvements in games such as ‘Mario Kart World’ (essentially A ‘Mario Kart 8’ Vitaminate in the visual) or the updated versions of the ‘Zelda’, where the 1080p at 120 fps shone especially, especially because we had to compare: the first switch. The new screen is up to the renewed guts of the console, and is the best example of the new console status: We are no longer facing a toybut before a machine that moves’Star Wars Outlaws‘ either ‘Cyberpunk 2077‘. Joy-Con 2 ‘Mouse’ and Chamber: Good idea and curiosity in equal parts One of the peculiarities of the Joy-Con 2 is that they can be used as if it were a PC mouse. In a few months we will talk about how often we have come to use this function, although on paper they are a good idea for games that require precision in the pointed one, such as the new ‘Metroid Prime 4’. But we are not, obviously, before a mouse: its size, its ergonomics and the place that occupy the trigger and the side buttons make a large hand over hurting with the use. It is the only time when the console recovers that feeling of the first switch that we were facing a toy. Its use, in any case, is direct (you just have to disconnect the joy-with the screen and support them on a smooth surface) and have multiple applications that developers will discover. It will give us more than a surprise (in fact, it is the most colorful novelty of the console at the hardware level), yes, provided that it does not require very prolonged sessions of the game. Another song is the camera. We had no chance to try the new chat of the console to share several game screens, but we could incorporate the camera into a renewed session ‘Mario Party Jamboree’. The result does not allow us to judge the device in all its complexity, as is obvious, but left us with the feeling that We are facing a little curiosityas its own form demonstrates, with support to place next to the console and visualize all the people in the room. The console sauce: the games Few more novelties we could notice with regard to hardware itself, which leaves us with the usual observation with respect to Nintendo, not necessarily negative: What matters is the catalog. Once again, it will be the existence of games such as ‘Metroid Prime 4’, ‘Donkey Kong Baniza’ or ‘Mario Kart World’ who push the console. It is significant that this time the device has some entrails that put it at the height of some current desktop consoles (it should be compared, perhaps, with a Xbox Series s), But let’s not fool ourselves: that is not the strategy of Nintendo, which as it was clear in yesterday’s Direct, bets on the games and then already that, to the technique. The price of Nintendo Switch 2: determinant It would be thought that this is not the place to thorough Finally move triple tothat can afford to be challenged at the industry level such as receiving exclusively the new from Fromsoftware, but that is still a higher version of a console that already existed and that, in broad strokes, does the same. If we defended at the time that Switch was worth it for its catalog, logic works in reverse: is it worth only for a minimum technical improvement? Of course the answer lies in each one’s pocket, but 469.99 euros (without ‘Mario Kart World’) is a little less than 50% more than the cost of exit the First switch. Is Switch 2, however tendentious the comparison, 50% more powerful than its precedent? Of course not, but again, what matters here is the catalog: what we saw yesterday by ‘Metroid Prime 4’, ‘Donkey Kong Baniza’ and ‘Mario Kart World’, plus the silent guarantee that we will see exclusive and quality games comparable to new ‘Zelda’ or ‘Mario 2D’, convinced us. Although we kept asking ourselves if this time Nintendo has opted too strong for his own triumph. Images | Xataka In Xataka | Nintendo Switch 2 will have “Key cards”. And the big question is what it is for the future of physical format

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