Google sets up Person Finder after Japanese tsunami

Google has established a webpage to help people in Japan find friends and relatives who may have been caught up in the tsunami that is devastating parts of northern Japan.

The Person Finder service, which allows people to post a request to find a specific person or to post information that they have on someone's whereabouts, is available both in English and in Japanese.

Developers can also embed the tool on their website, using code linked to here. At the time of writing, the Person-Finder page appeared to be tracking around 1,300 records.

Google has also set up a crisis response page to help people find information.

According to the BBC, the 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck at 2.46pm local time (5.46am in the UK) on Friday at a depth of around 20 miles. No-one knows yet how many casualties have been sustained, as the situation is ongoing. The tsunami may hit as far afield as Chile, and warnings have been extended to the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Pacific coast of Russia and Hawaii.