In the wake of last weekend’s terrible earthquake in Nepal, tech firms including Apple Inc., Google Inc,, Facebook, Microsoft Corp., and Twitter have pitched in to help with the relief efforts.
Apple has teamed up with the American Red Cross, and is asking for donations to help the rescue effort via its iTunes Store. According to Apple, 100 percent of the donations will be passed onto the Red Cross as it mobilizes to help out survivors of the quake. Additionally, Twitter is also raising funds with other relief organizations, such as UNICEF.
Within hours of the 7.8 magnitude quake hitting, Facebook activated its Safety Check feature that allows people in affected areas to notify friends and family that they’re okay.
“When disasters happen, people need to know their loved ones are safe,” wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Saturday. “It’s moments like this that being able to connect really matters. My thoughts are with everyone who’s been caught up in this tragedy.”
Meanwhile Microsoft is doing its part by making Skype calls into and out of Nepal to landlines and mobiles free for all users. Skype is probably the most widely used VoIP platform in the world, and so its sure to come in handy for dozens of people in the region. The free Skype calls are part of a greater initiative by Microsoft to donate $1 million in money, services and technology to help out with the relief efforts.
In a similar vein, telecommunications providers like AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon have all announced their users can make free calls to Nepal. In addition, Time Warner is also offering free calls to India and China until May 25, while AT&T and Verizon are offering free SMS messages to those countries.
As for Google, the search engine giant perhaps has an even more vested interest in helping out given that its engineer Dan Fredinburg, who worked with its Project X division, was one of 17 climbers who perished in an avalanche at the climbers’ base camp on Mount Everest. Google confirmed his death on Sunday, and said it believed there were three other Google employees with him on the mountain when the avalanche hit.
“He has passed away,” wrote Lawrence You, Google’s director of privacy. “The other three Googlers with him are safe, and we are working to get them home quickly.”
As for its relief efforts, Google has been doing more than most. The company immediately made its person finder tool available in English, Chinese, Nepali, Hindi and Japanese languages to help people find each other. In addition, it’s possible to use the service via text message or phone call if Internet access is unavailable.
Seperately, Google says it’s working to get satellite imagery to help with the relief efforts, but says this work has been hampered by cloud cover.
Finally, Google has made available a visualization of global searches for terms including the words “Nepal” and “help” that were made in the wake of the earthquake.
The response of the tech industry is heartening, but despite their best efforts it’s thought that many people are still cut off from the world. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, and barely a third of its population are actually online. Moreover, the earthquake has damaged lots of critical infrastructure, cutting off Internet and phone access in many areas. Therefore, it’s going to be difficult to communicate even if the phone calls are free.
Latest reports put the death toll at over 4,000, and that figure is likely to rise even higher as the relief effort continues.
Photo Credit: Kevin Baird via Compfight cc