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Helping people stay informed and connected in Japan and Ecuador
April 19, 2016
Over the last few days, Japan and Ecuador have been affected by significant earthquakes. Hundreds have been killed, and many thousands injured or displaced. We’re doing a few things to try to help.
Find and call loved ones
To help people post and search for family or friends affected by the disaster we activated
Person Finder
in Spanish and Japanese. We’re also offering free calls via Hangouts, Hangouts Dialer or Google Voice to and within Ecuador to help people communicate with loved ones.
Learn more on the ground
For people in and around the affected areas, we have Google Now cards with critical crisis-related information like missing person resources, safety zones, and aftershock safety tips. We’ve made the same information available on search for earthquake-related searches. In Japan, we launched a
landing page
and
crisis map
showing accessible roads and places where people can get disaster resources like fresh water. In Ecuador, we updated Waze with more than 90 safe place locations, including local shelter information.
Support for the response
Given the scope of the damage and need in Ecuador, Google.org has committed $250,000 to support relief efforts on the ground. We’re also providing up to $250,000 in Google employee gift-matching for both Japan and Ecuador.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, Director, Google.org
Jacquelline Fuller
Director
Google.org
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