While Hurricane Harvey made landfall over the weekend, the impact of the natural disaster is still ongoing for the people of Texas and surrounding areas. Google and their philanthropic arm has launched a number of efforts in response, including offering Project Fi credits for those in affected regions.
As with the terrorist attack in Barcelona earlier this month, Google has activated its SOS Alert feature. Live in Maps and Search, users in affected areas will see emergency info from local officials and a crisis map. The latter includes active alerts, weather, and crowd-sourced information from Waze for road closures and shelters.
Meanwhile, users of Google’s MVNO cellular service will receive a $20 service credit. In a post, Google hopes that the credits will help those “searching for resources or reaching out to loved ones” stay connected.
The credit dispersal will be determined by billing zip codes and automatically applied to accounts in the next few days. Those with questions or concerns can also reach support teams by dialing 611.
Lastly, Google.org is making a $250,000 grant to the American Red Cross and matching Googler donations up to the same amount. The bulk of the latter aid will go towards the Red Cross, as well as Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity, and Team Rubicon.
Google notes that 450 “call Texas home” and thousands other are connected to Texas, noting that “the impact of Hurricane Harvey on our state is personal to many of us.”
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