facebook, reuters
A man is silhouetted against a video screen with a Facebook logo. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Facebook has come up with a novel idea to connect to people in times of disasters and emergency. This feature is called the "Safety Check" and was unveiled in Japan on Oct. 15. During the 2011 tsunami that struck Japan, millions of people tried to keep in touch with their loved ones using social media and other platforms. Encouraged by this and for the safety of the public, engineers in Japan developed a Disaster Message Board. The Safety Check notification is an extension of this project.

When a disaster or natural calamity strikes an area and the notification is activated, then the user will receive a notification asking if he is safe. This tool determines the location from the city listed on the user's profile or the last location the user logged in or used the Internet from.

If the user is outside the affected area and if the tool gets the location wrong, he can mark that he is outside the affected area. If the user is safe, he can select the "I'm Safe" button and a notification and a News Feed story will be generated with the update. A user's friends can also mark that he is safe.

Tech companies like Google and Facebook have always tried to connect to people during and after disasters or natural calamities in the past. This is a significant tool in case of emergencies and a simple one, too, that will let loved ones know if the user is safe or not. The notification tool is especially handy when people are trying to call their loved ones and are unable to do so due to overload of phone lines or due to any other reason. This tool helps to connect with family and friends when it matters the most.

The Safety Check tool will be made available globally across all platforms like the Android, iOS as well as the desktop. This is one great tool that Facebook has come up with that will be very useful in places that are always threatened by some disaster or another.

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