Facebook.com/safetycheck/brusselsexplosions-march2016/
Facebook activated its Safety Check Tuesday morning for users located in Brussels following a series of explosions and deadly attacks killed at least 30 people dead and injured hundreds.
Three explosions, two at Zaventem airport and a separate attack at Maalbeek Metro Station — the subway near the European Union headquarters — left Brussels on lockdown with worries of additional attacks.
In its first major deployment, Facebook Safety Check originally launched in April 25 2015 after a deadly earthquake in Nepal, and again for the May 2015 Nepal earthquake. Facebook Safety Check was also activated in November 2015 after the Paris terrorist attacks.
Unlike a normal Facebook update, Safety Check automatically sends your status to your friends in the form of a notification if you are marked safe.
Facebook Safety Check can also be used to check on Facebook friends in the area of the attacks. Facebook Safety Check is accessed by pointing your browser to Facebook.com/safetycheck. Today the address forwards users to the Safety Check page for the Brussels incident.
Facebook.com/safetycheck/brusselsexplosions-march2016/
Facebook users can search by friend’s name, which returns a listing for the friend. The listing describes whether the friend is in the affected area. The listing also offers a “Mark Safe” button with the opportunity to mark the friend safe.
The Safety Check page for Brussels on Tuesday at 10:25 CDT showed a map of the Brussels area and the following text …
“Reports indicate multiple explosions at the Zaventem Airport in Brussels, as well as at least one metro station in the city. The airport has been shutdown and all flights diverted. The metro, tram, and bus systems have also been shut down citywide.
Emergency Telephone 112”
In the Nepal earthquake, some Facebook users, who were outside the quake zone were marked safe, which resulted in harsh criticism of their improper use of the service.
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