Google Person Finder – Your Link in Times of Worry

In the wake of yet another natural disaster, the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011 it seems worth mentioning and giving credit this month to Google for its Person Finder service.  First launched after the Haiti earthquake in January of last year, the service has since been deployed following the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, and now to help those affected by the Japanese disaster.

Google’s Person Finder is an easy-to-use online tool that allows those who are looking for someone and those who have news of someone affected by a catastrophic incident to register their status.  In the immediate aftermath of events such as those in Haiti, New Zealand and Japan, traditional means of communication are often lost altogether, leaving friends and loved ones frantic for news.  In its Person Finder service, Google utilizes today’s technology to provide peace of mind to those who are anxious for feedback.

For each of the events for which Google has launched the Person Finder service, a new website address has been created, but in each case it can be found by typing “Google Person Finder” and the name of the city or country in which the disaster occurred into the Google search engine.  For anyone still awaiting news from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the English language version of the website can be found at http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en.