When in times of crisis, access to timely and useful information is important. Technology plays a vital role in accessing information while working together with trained responders and volunteers on the ground.
Google has released SOS alerts for this reason. A new set of features, SOS alerts are in Google Search and Maps to help quickly understand what is happening and what to do in case of crisis.
In the event of a crisis, you may see an SOS Alert at the top of the search results when looking for the incident or location. The page will also display maps, main stories and, where available, local authorized information such as emergency phone numbers, websites and translations of useful phrases.
This also depends on how close you are to the affected area, which also means that you receive a notification on your mobile device that directs you to this information.
For users outside the affected area, they may still need information about the crisis. Therefore, searches for relevant terms (such as event name or location) will display an SOS alert that provides a timely summary of the situation with the addition of donation opportunities.
Google Maps on mobile can also display SOS Alerts. On Maps, you’ll see a specific icon on the map and a tappable card with more information about the crisis, such as useful phone numbers and websites. The map will also include real-time updates such as road closures and traffic and transit updates.
In addition, in addition to SOS Alerts and other crisis response functions, there are also Google Person finder, Google Crisis Map and Google Public Alerts.
