Google launched Person Finder, an open-source web application which provides a registry and message board for survivors, family, and loved ones affected by a natural disaster. They can post and search for information about each other's conditions, status and whereabouts.
Written in Python programming language and hosted on Google App Engine, the tool was first created by Google engineers volunteer in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The employees worked together to create the software with Google working with the U.S. Department of State.
Person Finder is multilingual, and uses PFIF that aggregate data from many other organization's website which are created with lists of missing persons. The tool also contains various other disaster information such as satellite photographs, shelter locations, road conditions, and areas with power outage.
Since then, Person Finder has been deployed in numerous disasters such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, bombings and typhoons.
