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Person Finder: Christchurch Earthquake, February 2011
- singular 16y agoI have family living in Christchurch who I am completely unable to contact, so am grateful that there is at least another means of attempting to get some information.
- singular 16y agojust in case anyone was wondering, I eventually got in contact and everybody was ok :) - though not via the people finder in my case. Still a great tool, much appreciated.
- olalonde 16y agoI don't mean to belittle this app, but why do we need a person finder in the era of e-mails and social networks?
- chr15 16y agoThere was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
- olalonde 16y agoSo what? You can't access your mail client / favorite social network but you can access this website?
- chr15 16y agoMy mother does not have any social network accounts or email. If she lived in New Zealand, how can I make sure she's okay assuming I cannot reach her by phone? I would want every possible method of checking on her available to me.
- EliRivers 16y agoYour lack of imagination astounds me. I suspect that you realise that your original comment was hopelessly flawed, but you now refuse to admit it. Many people don't use the Facebook. Lots of people use eMail, but there's been an earthquake. Their workplaces are buried. Their computers are under rubble. The majority of eMail users do not know how to configure a new PC to access their eMail. They've relied on it just working on their existing systems. That's gone. There are so many other things that could stop people using their eMail or their Facebook page. What's needed is a single, central information collator and provider. That's what has been created.
- elliottcarlson 16y agoPost Sept. 11, it was nearly impossible to get in touch with loved ones. With the immediate cell phone towers destroyed in the attacks them selves (and crippling the infrastructure as well as a lot of it was in tower 7); the remaining cellular network was under extreme load from people attempting to reach out to their family and friends. I was unable to contact my family to let them know I was OK for up to 6 hours after the incident happened. A site like this serves a great purpose when a large tragedy occurs - the infrastructure for things such as internet and communications can easily be compromised when a large scale earthquake or terrorist attack happens - or when large numbers of people simply can not update their status to the world if they are safe or not...
- olalonde 16y agoUh? If "the infrastructure for things such as internet and communications can easily be compromised" why would you be able to access this particular website more than Gmail or Facebook?
- elliottcarlson 16y agoIt's meant more as a service to people looking for their loved ones. For weeks after 9/11 people were posting "lost" posters attempting to find their family and friends in the hopes that they were still alive. Services were made that allowed people to see if names were on the list of confirmed deceased etc. The bottom line is that this kind of site allows people to quickly get information in a consolidated place - the information could be coming from rescue workers, or volunteers - and they may not have the access or the time to find someones Facebook to post a friendly message to the family.
- EliRivers 16y agoNot everyone habitually uses eMail or social networks.
- localhost3000 16y agoI spent six months in Christchurch as an undergrad. Amazing place. Even better people. Surrounded by the most beautiful country you'll ever see.