Google Activates Person Finder App for Uttarakhand Flood Victims

Search engine giant Google Inc reached out with a philanthropic hand and reactivated its 'Person Finder' application that traces the missing or relatives of the victims stranded in the Uttarakhand flash floods.

This embeddable app is a tool by Google's Crisis Response team to post and search the status of relatives or friends during a crisis. The program is an online database where it accepts all data entered by people and makes it available for everyone. It even lets press agencies, non-governmental agencies to contribute to the database and receive updates.

The tracing app for monsoon flood in Uttarakhand is available at:

http://google.org/personfinder/2013-uttrakhand-floods

After making a record and setting an expiration date, Google scans through records available online. It then sends updates to the person who posted the inquiry. But the program depends on the internet connectivity of victims and rescuers' smartphones.

Families and friends of victims have sought the government to increase efforts in locating and contacting those stranded amid nature's disaster in the hilly Indian state.

"My Frnd's Dad name is "Jaivir Singh" he is stuck at #Kedarnath #Uttrakhand. We are nt able 2 trace dem, Hepline no. busy all time. Plz Help !" Abhishek Rajput posted on Twitter.

There are still more than 50,000 people stranded in parts of Uttarakhand due to the heavy downpour and floods. The number of causalities disaster could run into thousands, the state government's disaster management centre told PTI.

Google's tracing app to reconnect people in the aftermath of natural disasters was built and first activated for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The app was even launched for victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings in April.