Facebook, Microsoft and other tech firms launch tools to help Nepal earthquake survivors
A number of major US technology companies, including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter, have launched schemes to help survivors of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday.
From Tuesday afternoon Hong Kong time, Facebook users began seeing a message at the top of their news feeds encouraging them to donate to the International Medical Corps organisation, which has emergency response teams delivering medical care and medicine to the hardest hit regions. In a statement, Facebook said it would match every dollar donated up to US$2 million.
As well as encouraging users around the world to donate, Facebook also enabled its "Safety Check" feature for people on the ground in Nepal, as well as areas in Bangladesh, India and Bhutan hit by aftershocks. The tool, launched in October 2014, allows users to broadcast to their friend list that they are safe and unharmed.
"Often before someone wants a drink of water, something to eat, or a blanket to sleep on, they want to know: 'Where is my husband? Where is my child? Where is my mother?' That's why efforts to restore family links are so important," Anna Nelson, an ICRC spokeswoman, told the New York Times.
To enable those who know their relatives are safe to contact them, Microsoft has made Skype calls in and out of Nepal free to landlines and mobile phones. The move is part of a US$1 million donation by the company of money, technology and services to assist survivors of the earthquake, it said in a statement.
For its part, Apple is encouraging users of iTunes to donate to the American Red Cross. The appeal allows donations from US$5-200, with 100 per cent of the proceeds being passed to the aid organisation.
Nepalese officials said on Tuesday that the final death toll for the disaster could rise to as high as 10,000 people.
How to help
HSBC : 500-334149-010/ Hang Seng bank account: 267-175123-009/ Bank of China bank account: 012-806-00034033
HSBC: 001-6-331860/ Bank of China: 012-874-0-010515-7/ Hang Seng Bank: 284-401080-003
HSBC: 567-354014-005/ Bank of China: 012-875-0-021868-3/ Wing Lung Bank: 020-601-003-7634-8/ Bank of East Asia: 015-260-81-012100
HSBC: 018-377077-003/ Hang Seng Bank: 286-364385-005/ Bank of China: 012-883-0-002136-6