Facebook makes is easy to tell people you’re safe, in case of a natural disaster

Facebook announced a new feature aimed at offering its users the option to make a very specific kind of update: a check-in to let family and friends know they're safe after a natural disaster.

Safety Check, as the new feature is called, gives Facebook users the option to check in with one-click to tell loved ones that they're out of harm's way when there's a natural disaster. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the feature in Tokyo, Japan. Safety Check was first inspired by the reaction Facebook users had to the 2011 tsunami that devastated the northeastern Tohoku region. When there's a disaster on that sort of scale, Facebook will now ping users who've enabled location services with a notification asking them to update their status on Facebook. Only friends will be able to see these posts, which simply let people know that an individual is safe. Users in an area affected by a disaster can also mark other friends in their network as safe.