In 2014, Facebook launched a feature called ‘safety check‘. Let’s say an emergency breaks out in someone’s hometown. The person can check in to let his/her Facebook friends know they’re okay. Facebook ‘safety check’ is activated again.
During the overnight hours, a 6.2 earthquake hit central Italy. The hardest hit regions were the Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo regions in the Apennine Mountains. This is about 80 miles northeast of Rome, but the city of Rome felt the quake. As of this writing, the earthquake caused at least 73 confirmed deaths. Over 150 are still missing. Thousands of families are left homeless. As I write this, rescue workers struggle around the clock to pull survivors out of the rubble. The hardest hit town was Amatrice. The small town of 2,600 was so devastated the town mayor said, “The town isn’t here anymore. I believe the [death] toll will rise.” One witness called the scene ‘apocalyptic’. Pope Francis calls the quake, ‘heartbreaking’. This part of Italy is also popular with tourists, especially during the height of the summer travel season. That business is gone. However, tourist revenue is the last issue on their minds right now. The US Embassy urges Americans to stay away from the earthquake zone.
Facebook safety check has helped in disasters before. They were there during the Nepal earthquake last year, the terrorist attack in Paris during November 2015, and ?after the Orlando mass shooting in June 2016. They’ll be there for this Italy earthquake. If you know someone in the hard hit area, use Facebook check to check on their well being. If you are in these hard hit areas, use Facebook check to alert your loved ones. However, the communications might be heavily affected. If they are, keep trying until you get through. Facebook’s ‘safety check’ is a good tool to use right now. Do you have this feature on your device? You never know when you might need it.