Google has launched its Web-based tool Person Finder again, in response to the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal on Saturday. Person Finder and Facebook's Safety Check feature give those looking for information about victims and survivors a method for getting crowd-sourced.
The earthquake struck in a region between Kathmandu and Pokhara, resulting in over 1,800 deaths, and over 6,400 injuries. It demolished several buildings, temples, and other historic structures in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu.
The Person Finder tool is a fairly simple searchable, online database that is available through PCs and cellphones, according to Telegraph. Users just have to visit the page, and then indicate whether they are searching for a person, or have information about a person.
If users are searching for a person, they have to type in the person's name and then wait for a database match. If there is a match then the user will be directed to a Google mini profile; otherwise, the user can create a new profile, according to PC Mag.
When creating the profile, the user can post any information to identify a person. That includes data such as the person's name, age, and home address. Users can then request to receive updates regarding the missing person.
However, if users have information about a person, they have two options. They can enter the person's first and last name in Person Finder, or create a new profile if one does not exist yet.
The reporting page lets users add information such as people's status, their last possible known location, and a message. They can note whether they have communicated with the person, and can also attach a photograph.
People in the region of the Nepal Earthquake can also use Facebook's Safety Check feature. This informs friends and relatives that they are alive.
Google first launched Person Finder as a response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which killed over 100,000 people. Since then it has also been deployed for other disasters such as tsunamis, floods, and mudslides.