Google activates “SOS Alerts” and Online donations for Hurricane Irma
Technology Giant Google today activated “SOS Alerts“, a Crisis Map and online donations to track the advance of Hurricane Irma. which has left countless damages in the Caribbean Islands and Threatens to Hit the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and Florida (USA).
These features, available in Google Search and Google Maps, aim to “bring critical information about the evolution of this hurricane, as well as access to resources and donations online,” the company said in a statement sent to Efe.
In addition, they include the most recent news, an approximate map of the affected areas and local updates from different sources of information, as well as notifications on mobile devices close to the cyclone.
Users who are in affected places can enter searches on relevant terms, such as “Hurricane Irma” or look for the name of the countries or regions by which the cyclone continues its progress, according to the company of Mountain View (California, USA).
Google’s Hurricane Crisis Map also provides the latest alerts for affected areas, Waze traffic application information about available shelters and road closures, as well as weather information.
The data will be available on company maps in the upper right, where you will find filters or layers with that information, added the firm, which will also allow free inclusion of the platform on external web pages.
“Users will also be able to find the option to donate online when doing research in certain countries, which is collected by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which is responsible for identifying different international organizations in order to provide a response and effective assistance to countries in crisis, “Google said.
According to the US National Hurricane Center’s 21.00 GMT bulletin, the eye of the “extremely dangerous” Hurricane Irma moves “very close” to Turks and Caicos on their way to the Bahamas archipelago, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of the Island of Grand Turk and about 135 miles (220 kilometers) east of the Great Island of Inagua.
The system maintains sustained maximum winds of 175 miles per hour (280 km / h) and moves west-northwest with a speed of 16 miles per hour (26 km / h).
According to a likely trajectory pattern, Irma’s eye should continue to move between Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, to move through the southeastern Bahamas and Friday near the center of Bahamas.
