Even If Offline, People In Flood-Hit Kerala Can Share Location: Google
New Delhi, Aug 18 : Even when they are offline, Kerala flood victims can use their Android smartphones or tablets to generate and share the plus code of their exact location, which can pinpoint their whereabouts and make it easier for rescue workers to reach them, Google said on Saturday.
Users can share their plus codes over a voice call or an SMS.
Plus codes work just like street addresses. When an address is not available, one can use a plus code to find or share a place on Google Maps.
A plus code includes 6 or 7 letters and numbers, and a town or city.
To find the plus code for a place on an Android phone or tablet, users need to open the Google Maps app and touch and hold a place to drop a pin on Google Maps.
They then need to tap the address or description at the bottom, and scroll down to find the plus code.
To search for a place using a plus code, all the rescuers or family members of the flood victims need to do is type the plus code at the search box of the Google Maps app.
Overflowing rivers and a series of landslides in the state have caused the death of 180 people as of Saturday morning, with over three lakh people forced to move to some 2,000 relief camps.
Nearly, 7,000 persons have been rescued since August 9 and some 900 given medical assistance.
Twitter earlier this month said that in flood situations when communication services are limited and Internet connectivity is poor, using the data-friendly "Twitter Lite" can help people connect easily with government agencies, relief organisations, media and volunteers.
One can use hashtags such as #KeralaFloods, #KeralaFloods2018 on Twitter to find information regarding relief operations, such as locations of relief centres.
Facebook is updating information about the flood situation in Kerala in its Crisis Response Page. The social networking giant last week activated the "Safety Check" tool that allows users to indicate whether they are safe or not.
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Rupee hits record intra-day low in early trade, falls 12 paise to 92.37 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee slumped 12 paise to its record low of 92.37 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday as global crude oil prices showed no signs of easing amid the ongoing West Asian conflict.
A stronger greenback, heavy FII selling and weak sentiments in the domestic equity markets further weighed on the rupee, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.33 and slipped further to hit its record intra-day low of 92.37 against the US dollar, down 12 paise from its previous close.
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The rupee touched a fresh intra-day low of 92.36 on Thursday and closed the session 24 paise down at its lowest level of 92.25 against the US dollar.
"Oil prices remained elevated after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is closed permanently till the resolution of the crisis. The dollar index also rose, European and Asian currencies all fell against the dollar," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
The rupee has remained vulnerable and in the absence of the RBI could have reached 93.00 levels, he added.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 99.77.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 4.99 per cent at USD 96.57 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex plunged 560.06 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 75,474.36, while the Nifty tanked 184.45 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 23,454.70.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 7,049.87 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, retail inflation moved up to 3.21 per cent in February compared to 2.74 per cent in the preceding month, driven mainly by higher food prices, government data released on Thursday showed.
