Google pledges USD 1 million for flood relief and restoration work in Kerala

Among other measures, Google also activated the "person finder" tool, which it claims fetched 22,000 records.

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Google will contribute $1 million (nearly Rs 7 crore) to the relief and restoration work in Kerala which has been battered by severe floods, a top company official said here on Tuesday.

"Google.org and Googlers will contribute $1 million to the relief work in Kerala," Rajan Anandan, Vice President, Southeast Asia and India, said at the Google for India event.

Google Crisis Response team has launched several measures to help victims of Kerala floods.

Among other measures, it activated the "person finder" tool that fetched 22,000 records, Anandan said.

Apple too, announced last week that it is donating Rs 7 crore towards the ongoing relief work.

"We're heartbroken by the catastrophic flooding in Kerala. Apple is donating Rs 7 crore to support the life saving work Mercy Corps India and the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund are undertaking to support survivors, help those who have been displaced and rebuild homes and schools," the Cupertino-based iPhone maker said in a statement.

Apple has also added support banners to its home page, along with App Store and iTunes Store, allowing customers to donate to Mercy Corps.

Apple customers can donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 to Mercy Corps using credit and debit cards.

As many as 417 people have lost their lives ever since monsoon rains began lashing Kerala on May 29, with some 8.69 lakh displaced people sheltered in 2,787 relief camps.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday that the deaths began since the monsoon rains started on May 29 but 265 of the casualties were reported from August 8 when torrential downpour triggered the worst flooding in the state in nearly a century.

There have been other companies as well that have donated money for the flood victims. Hyundai India and TVS Motor Company donated Rs 1 crore each to Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), while Mercedes Benz-India donated Rs 30 lakh. Beverage alcohol major Diageo India also donated Rs 1 Crore towards CMDRF.

Several other companies have been pitching in to help the victims in other ways. E-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket and Zomato have been partnering with various NGOs to help with the relief work. Google has made available a Person Finder tool to help find missing people in Kerala. Paytm started accepting donations for the CMDRF and collected over Rs 30 crore.

Telecom operators too are trying to help by offering data and voice call benefits to prepaid customers and bill payment extensions to postpaid customers. Idea and Airtel launched missing person services as well.