Google has launched a Person Finder page in order to help victims of a powerful earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday reconnect with missing friends and families.
The website allows users to search a user-created database using a missing person’s name. If no match is found in the existing database, they can leave information about the person and a message for him or her. People can also leave information about themselves for their loved ones or add information they have about another person to the site.
At the time of writing, more than 6,500 records have been created.
Google created the Person Finder with the U.S. Department of State after the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January 2010. Since then, it has created Person Finder websites in response to the earthquake that hit Chile in February and the earthquake that hit China in April.
The search giant has also started creating crisis response pages that list emergency numbers, resources and real-time updates from Twitter and YouTube. The page for the Christchurch Earthquake includes the Person Finder, as well as a map of the destruction.
Source : http://mashable.com/2011/02/22/new-zealand-people-finder/
