Nepal earthquake: Google and Facebook want to help you find victims of the disaster

Facebook and Google launched tools that provided information on the status of people in the affected areas

Jamie Campbell
Monday 27 April 2015 10:19 BST
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Family members break down during the cremation of an earthquake victim in Bhaktapur
Family members break down during the cremation of an earthquake victim in Bhaktapur

Google has reopened its Person Finder tool to aid earthquake relief efforts in Nepal.

The application gathers information from emergency responders and individual users who can enter information for a missing person or someone who has been found.

So far, records for around 3,500 people have been uploaded. Any user is able to update the app with information regarding people who were in the area at the time of the disaster. The service is able to relate if a person is confirmed to be alive, reported to be alive, status unspecified, missing or dead and allows users to post personal information that may aid in identification.

The tool was first launched in 2010 following the devastating Haitian earthquake and has been deployed several times since following natural disasters.

Facebook has also activated a feature called "Safety" in the wake of the disaster. It asks people in the areas affected by the earthquake whether they are safe. If they answer affirmatively, it will then send out a notification to friends on the social network saying the person is “marked safe”.

A Facebook group called Nepal Earthquake 2015 has been set up to help share information regarding developments and to reach out to those who are still missing.

These are some of the messages for those still feared missing:

The earthquake registered at 7.8 on the Richter scale and has so far claimed the lives of at least 2,200 people after it devastated the heavily populated Kathmandu valley and caused an avalanche on Mount Everest.

Pope Francis has since led prayers in St. Peter's Square for the dead and displaced from the quake.

Francis called for assistance for the survivors during his weekly Sunday blessing. He said he was praying for the victims, the injured and "all those who are suffering from this calamity," and asked that they have the "support and fraternal solidarity" they need.

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