Facebook Safety Checks: Why It Matters

Facebook has a lot of features but probably the most invaluable one is its Safety Check during disasters or crisis. The Safety Check feature was added three years ago and announced by Mark Zuckerberg:

Since then, the Safety Check feature has been utilized by many around the world during tragic disasters, including the very first time during the Paris attacks. The advantage of it is that it's able to connect and communicate with friends and family instantly letting others know that a person in a disaster area is marked as safe. Once the person checks in, a post is made notifying everyone that they're safe.

Facebook has continued to enhance Safety Check and now it is community-activated. When there's a disaster in a specific area, there's a good chance a notification will be sent asking if folks in the area are okay.

As Hurricane Irma strengthens, technology like Facebook's Safety Check are imperative in reconnecting after a disaster. If you have family or friends impacted at all by Hurricane Irma, here's the Safety Check to let everyone know they're okay.

https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/les-abymes-guadeloupe-hurricane-sep05-2017/

Ongoing updates on Hurricane Irma can be found at the National Hurricane Center.