Saturday’s deadly 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal, along with the resulting aftershocks, have left thousands dead and many others injured and in need of food, shelter, and medical help. Luckily, high tech tools are making it possible to help earthquake victims and their loved ones find each other without the need for travel to affected areas. These high tech tools are being made available in both English and Nepali so it can easily be used by affected people who need to find their friends and loved ones in the earthquake-affected areas.
How Google People Finder Can Help Earthquake Victims
One of the high tech tools assisting in the Nepal earthquake disaster area is Google’s Person Finder. Google Person Finder is an open source web application that works like a registry and message board for survivors, family members, and loved ones in the case of a natural disaster. It started originally in 2010 to help out during the 2010 Haiti earthquake, so people wouldn’t have to travel to all the way to Haiti to find out what happened to their friends and loved ones.
Google is now letting people use it to help find their friends or loved ones that were involved in this recent tragedy in Nepal. It can be accessed via computer or mobile device. All the user needs do is enter the person’s name they are searching for. If the name has been loaded into the database, it will reveal the sought after information. Victims in the affected areas can put themselves into the system in order to give information to anyone that may be looking for them.
Facebook Safety Update Can Also Help Earthquake Victims
Another hi-tech tool that has been created and is being used so people won’t have to travel into the dangerous earthquake region is Facebook Safety Update. This was started in October 2014 and is used to track people who are in affected disaster regions. Users can use the app to produce alerts and send them to Facebook friends in the earthquake area and they can then confirm their condition and tell their friends if they are safe or not. Once a Facebook member registers that they are okay, Facebook notifies all of their Facebook friends.
Phone Assistance Also Available to Help Earthquake Victims
Victims in the disaster area also have several options to send information to their friends and loved ones via phone call. For instance, Viber has turned off their Viber Out billing and for the next two days so that Nepalese callers can make free phone calls to any mobile or landline. In addition, either other agencies like MTNL, BSNL, IDEA, and Airtel are lowering their rates to reflect local calling prices or in some cases, offering free calls for the next 48 hours.
These high tech tools are just some of the ways that victims and their families and friends are being helped after Nepal’s 7.9-magnitude earthquake Saturday. This devastating quake has destroyed homes, landmarks, temples, and even caused a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest, which claimed the lives of several people, as well. It all goes to show that a high tech tool can be a lifesaver when disasters hit, all around the globe.
Chris Keeling young Nepal mountain biker who used to competed and win all the extreme mountain top hill mountain biking competitions:
https://youtu.be/a4cTnMvOplQ
