A significant number of areas in Penang and Kedah were affected by massive flood after both states were hit by heavy downpour that lasted for more than 15 hours. The flood is so severe that it has triggered the Safety Check feature on Facebook.
Launched throughout the world in 2014, this particular feature allows Facebook users to not only share their safety status to their friends but also allow them to seek or offer help during a disaster. The chain of activation starts when trust global crisis reporting agencies alerted Facebook which then the company will monitor its social media platform for posts regarding the incident in order to allow Facebook users utilize Safety Check.
The Crisis Response page for Penang Flood also includes a brief information regarding the flood as well as a handy map that showed location of users calling for assistance as well as those who offering help. Additionally, there is also a section where users can check the status of their own group of friend that might be in Penang or Kedah right now.
Meanwhile, the e-hailing service Uber has also suspended surge pricing in Penang in respond to the flood. A spokesperson from Uber Malaysia has also stated that cancellation fees have been halted as well.
To everyone in Penang and Kedah, we hope that you and your loves ones are safe. We also hope that the condition will improve swiftly.
(Source: Facebook via The Star // Image: The Star @ Facebook // Uber Malaysia)
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