As the devastation of the recent earthquake in Nepal persists to impair the casualties, giant company Google stepped up to abet as it recently launched its "Person Finder" tool to help users find their loved ones. The said web application is a database that allows individuals to share details if they have heard reports and a search capability for the status of friends or relatives they believe were affected by the earthquake.
The missing person database, which supports both English and Nepali, was first launched in 2010 after a massive quake in Haiti that killed more than 100,000 people. It only did not help Haiti but also the following major phenomena in India, Turkey, and the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. In the app interface, Google's "Person Finder" tool has two options: the "I'm looking for someone" and "I have information about someone." It currently tracks for up to 4,900 records.
Meanwhile, the 7.8 magnitude killing earthquake reportedly said to have struck an area between the capital, Kathmandu, and the city of Pokhara. Nearly 2,500 are known to have died and continuing to rise, more than 1,700 had been injured, and with many more feared trapped under the wreckage. The government has now declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.
However, due to the impoverishment of a nation as Nepal, aid groups worldwide are appealing for the help of everyone. UNICEF, World Food Program, Red Cross, and among others have launched sites for online donation. The US has also sent a disaster response team to Nepal and has already released an initial $1M to attend the immediate needs.
Furthermore, parallel to help everyone, Google's "Person Finding" tool also offers emergency workers and crisis response organizations the opportunity to add their own databases. These aid groups can use their "API key" as a means of ensuring they are accredited and trusted to send information to the online database. This can be found on the app's homepage. If data connectivity is unavailable, users can also send a search via text messaging. Keywords and mobile numbers can be found on the Google "Person Finder: 2015 Nepal Earthquake" page.
The recent killing quake had made an impact to the many lives of the casualties. Many are lost forever and some will be scarred for the rest of their lives. Everyone has a chance to help and Google is making a great deal of dwindling the devastation by connecting lives momentarily separated by a phenomenon. If you are looking for a family member or a loved one affected by the earthquake, or if you have significant reports to contribute for the recuperation of the casualties, you can redirect straight to the Google.org Person Finder App.
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