Facebook Safety Check connects those affected by devastating Nepal earthquake

As Nepal experienced its worst earthquake in 80 years — one with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 that killed nearly 1,800 people and destroyed ancient sites — Facebook activated a special feature that aims to keep people informed of the security of their friends and family in the affected area.

Facebook Safety Check asks users at the site of a natural disaster if they are safe, and then notifies their connections of their status. It also asks other users to indicate when people they know are safe.

"When disasters happen, people need to know their loved ones are safe. It's moments like this that being able to connect really matters," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his profile page.

This morning we activated Safety Check for people affected by the earthquake in Nepal. It's a simple way to let family...

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday, 25 April 2015

One woman with family in India tweeted that Facebook notified her about the number of friends she had in the affected area, and that two of the eight had indicated they were safe.

Facebook's brilliant new "safety check" feature. I was notified tht my family in the effected areas (India) were safe pic.twitter.com/7pk5PfAeQe

— Minerva (@LifeofSigh) April 25, 2015

Facebook launched the tool, which was inspired by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, last October, according to a blog post from the social network. It was a byproduct of Facebook's disaster message board.

Facebook is able to determine users' locations by "looking at the city you have listed in your profile, your last location if you’ve opted in to the Nearby Friends product, and the city where you are using the internet," according to its 2014 blog post. If a user has a Facebook friend in the disaster area, he or she is notified.

Facebook Safety Check's desktop application also provides a brief synopsis of the disaster and a phone number for emergency services.

UPDATED 10 p.m. PT to include rising death toll.
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