Hurricane Harvey has proven to be quite the devastating storm for Texas. The flooding and high winds have damaged property, but even worse, it has caused injuries and fatalities too. Yes, people actually died as a result of Harvey -- heartbreaking. Remember, folks, you can replace belongings, but not your life. Here at BetaNews, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the deceased.

Thankfully, many people and organizations are donating both money and resources to help those affected by the hurricane. One of those businesses, Google (which has 450 employees in Texas), is stepping up in a big way. The company is donating $250,000 plus matching employee donations up to the same amount. When the company's donations are added to its employee donations, it could potentially be more than $750,000 when all is said and done. Money aside, the search giant is leveraging its technologies to spread information and assist where needed, such as with its SOS Alerts on search results and a specialized "Harvey Crisis Map."

"The Harvey Crisis Map launched for this event, and featured within our SOS Alerts, includes the latest active alerts for the affected area, Waze-sourced shelters and road closure information, and weather information. Also, this map is embeddable for media outlets to freely use, with iframe functionality available through the share button on the map," says Gerardo Interiano, Head of Southwest External Affairs, Google.

Interiano further says, "To support the organizations working directly with impacted communities, we're making a $250,000 Google.org grant to the American Red Cross, and matching Googler donations up to $250,000 to the response efforts. Combined, the bulk of these funds will support the American Red Cross, who has been working to provide shelter and basic services for those affected, as well as Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity, and Team Rubicon."

Google deserves major kudos for helping out the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Of course, you too can help by donating, which I encourage you to do -- if you can afford it. Red Cross donations are being accepted here and you can pay using a credit card, PayPal, or Apple Pay.

Photo Credit: Mechanik/Shutterstock