J&K floods: Google database grows to over 6,000 people

NEW DELHI: Launched two days back to aid rescue efforts, Google's database on possible flood victims stranded in Jammu and Kashmir has over 6,300 records and is continuously growing.

The database has also been fed with exhaustive data by the central command control room of the NDRF based here.

"NDRF in association with Google has started a 'people find' link on the designated Google site," NDRF Inspector General Sandeep Rai Rathore told PTI, adding that the numbers were growing in the database.

The Internet giant, in an attempt to boost the search capabilities of rescue teams in the state, had launched and operationalised this time-tested application which has been used with success in Uttarakhand last year and during disasters world over.

The database is continuously building up and is now being used to stream information to rescue teams on ground by their control rooms in Delhi and at the airports in Jammu and Srinagar.

The Google application called 'Person Finder' is a customised exclusive web application that allows individuals to post and search for the status of relatives or friends affected by a disaster.

The link can be accessed at www.googleindia.blogspot.in or the search can also be done through an SMS by sending a text - "search " to 9773300000.

"If you're worried about someone in the disaster affected area, then click on 'I'm Looking for Someone' and type in their name. If you want to let people know you're safe, or if you have heard from someone in the disaster affected area, then click on 'I have information about someone' and put in their names and details," Google said in its latest post on the e-link.