Google announces $1 mn for flood relief ops in India, Nepal, Bangladesh

Lending a helping hand in the flood relief operations in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, Google has committed $1 million to NGOs Goonj and Save the Children.

While Save the Children is responding to the floods in all three countries, with the aim to reach a total of 1,60,000 people, Goonj aims to help 75,000 families in nine affected states in India, according to Google.

Save the Children's efforts include providing food and livelihood support, temporary shelter materials for those most in need, hygiene items, and water source restoration, while also focusing on setting up child-friendly spaces where children can gain access to educational materials.

Goonj's relief efforts include providing families with food, mats, blankets and hygiene items. In the long term, it aims to help rebuild and revive community structures such as roads, bridges and schools.

Apart from offering funds to the NGOs, Google's crisis response team has also activated SOS alerts in the three countries.

"These alerts include the latest news about the floods, an approximate map of the affected area, and local updates from Twitter and other resources.

"Our thoughts are with the people of the region," Rajan Anandan, vice president-Google for Southeast Asia and India, said.