Google Launches Person Finder for Japanese Quake Victims

Google was quick to launch a version of its Person Finder service to help people find each other in the wake of the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan Friday.

The People Finder service, set up to work in both English and Japanese, other languages includes Korean and Chinese language. The service is designed to let people inquire about others, as well as post information: where they are, their condition, about themselves or someone else.

While Google notes on the site that it cannot verify the accuracy of any of the information put into the Person Finder app, all the data is available to the public and viewable and usable by anyone.

Google announced the new version of its People Finder service on Twitter early Friday morning:

Google Person Finder available after earthquake in Japan to help you get information about loved ones. http://goo.gl/rlR07

We have embedded the People Finder Service below:

Google Crisis Response project, another project, has all the information and resources anyone needs regarding 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami.

Local Japan Emergency dials:
171 + 1 + line phone number to leave a message
171 + 2 + line phone number to listen to the message

Google also posted a tsunami warning on what is it’s generally sparse search home page. Just below the search bar, Google has written, “Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others. Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan.”

This story is excerpted from Computerworld.