Residents stay on the street outside their houses after an earthquake hit Chile's central zone, in Santiago, Chile, September 16, 2015. (Reuters)
Facebook has activated a geolocation tool allowing people in Chile to reassure friends and loved ones after a powerful magnitude 8.3 quake shook the country, killing at least eight.
The "Safety Check" tool, which first launched in October 2014, is automatically accessible through Facebook's regular user interface.
It informs members whether any of their Facebook contacts are in a particular disaster zone, and allows people to signal their presence in the area, and let others know they are safe and well.
Facebook was inspired to launch the product after people turned to technology and social media in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The social network deployed the tool following the April earthquake in Nepal that killed more than 8,800 people across the Himalayan nation.