Facebook safety check feature expands throughout Carolinas as Florence’s impact spreads

Facebook added Hurricane Florence to its safety check listing Friday, as the deadly storm made land fall in North Carolina before moving across South Carolina.

The feature allows people in areas affected by the devastating storm to use social media to alert family and friends about their safety.

That number expanded Sunday.

The social media giant added more users in a growing area of locations for safety check, even though Florence has been downgraded to a tropical depression and is moving from the western Carolinas to the Ohio Valley and Northeast, according to the national Hurricane Center.

There were more activated in the Raleigh and Charlotte areas, after so many had been established in the eastern portion of North and South Carolina.

SCREENSHOT

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The list has added areas because Florence’s impact remains even though the storm’s powerful winds have passed. Flooding and treacherous conditions remain a threat.

“The flood danger from this storm is more immediate today than when it made landfall,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday.

Facebook’s safety check works for those looking to inform others about their safety. It also lets people reach out to friends and family to see if they are OK, in spite of being in harm’s way.

In addition to alerting Facebook followers about a user’s safety, the safety check page allows people to “ask for,” or “give” help. Through the safety check, more than 2,000 people had offered or requested help as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

Facebook has also become a spot to manage charitable relief efforts, and several are currently listed on the “Hurricane Florence across the eastern United States” crisis response page.