Facebook has turned on its Safety Check feature for users affected by the ongoing Chennai floods in Tamil Nadu. The tool has been active since the early hours of December 3.
The Facebook Safety Check feature sends people within the affected region a note asking them if they are safe. Individuals are presented with the option of letting their friends know they are secure, after which the site automatically sends out a notification alerting people to the person’s status.
Members can also choose to mark people they know are safe. Facebook launched the Safety Check tool back in 2014, with the function initially only being used during natural disasters. The social networking giant had changed this practice recently when it activated the feature for those affected by the Paris terrorist attacks.
Facebook was severely criticized for only choosing to turn on Safety Check for Paris when there had been a twin suicide bombing in Beirut which killed 40 people only a day before. It seems to have acknowledged the critique, having started the tool when a blast in Nigeria occurred recently.
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Other than Facebook, Google too has begun offering its help to those affected by the Chennai floods. It’s set up a crisis response page where people can find resources such as emergency numbers and information about relief centers. The company is also encouraging people to highlight inundated, traffic-heavy and safe roads on a map.
Telecom operators are also trying to provide relief to consumers. For instance, BSNL has announced it will not charge Chennai citizens for a week, while Airtel is offering its pre-paid customers Rs 30 worth of talk time, 50MB of free data and 10 minutes of Airtel-to-Airtel credit.