MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - Google said that it had activated its so-called Person Finder online tool that allows individuals to post information about their condition or to try to find missing family members.

Google's Crisis Response division said that it was using the company's person-finding tool, which connects emergency responders with friends and loved ones of missing persons, to aid in the aftermath of the disaster.

According to the Re/code website, Google is tracking about 1,400 people in the country at present. Visitors can type the name of whom they're looking for into a search box, or text "search [NAME]" to +91-9773300000 in India or +1-650-800-3978 in the United States, it said.

The service had previously been used during the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011.

Facebook also said that it had activated a tool on the social network that allows people based in Nepal to let their friends and family know that they are okay. Those in affected area can mark yourself as safe from this page to let friends know, Re/code reported.