Faq

What is Google Crisis Response?

Google Crisis Response seeks to make critical information more accessible around natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Google's contributions can include: updated satellite imagery of the disaster area, charitable donations to organizations on-the-ground, outreach through Google web properties, and engineering tools, such as Google Person Finder and Landing Pages, designed to organize and coordinate critical response resources and information.

What is an example of an engineering tool?

Google Person Finder allows people to check the status of loved ones while also providing relief organizations with a common back-end to store data. Rather than using several different tools designed for the same purpose, Google Person Finder has been launched in multiple languages so that relief organizations have one central tool with which to work.

How much money have you given to relief efforts?

Google has donated several million dollars to relief organizations in the wake of many natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Nargis and the 2010 Pakistan floods. Google also gives people around the world easy ways to donate, through promotions on the Google.com homepage, and links on Landing Pages.

Is Google Crisis Response a global effort?

Yes. Google has responded to crises around the world. Many of the Google Crisis Response tools are also available in multiple languages.

How do you pick which crises to support?

The Google Crisis Response team assesses the severity and impact of a disaster and determines whether or not Google is able to uniquely contribute tools or content to response efforts.

It seems like Google responds in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Does Google plan to provide long term support and relief for disasters?

It depends on the needs of the crisis and our ability to assist. Typically, though, our ability to provide imagery and collaborative tools are most helpful within the first few weeks following a disaster.

What other tools does Google offer that can be useful in response efforts?

Google offers a number of tools and resources that are helpful in crisis management and response, including CrisisMap, Google Apps, such as Docs and Forms, and Google Maps and Google Earth. Examples range from organizing volunteer databases through Google spreadsheets to personalized maps that are designed for sharing, collaborating, and embedding information about resource needs and availabilities during crises.

Who is responsible for Google's Crisis Response efforts?

Google Crisis Response is a project of Google.org. We have a staff of engineers, product managers, and partnership professionals who are dedicated to working on efforts that focus on making critical information more accessible during natural disasters.