Facebook Safety Check: Facebook is launching an additional feature called "Safety Check." The new tool will be available on Web, iOS, and Android for those with phones. 
When a user lives in an area affected by a natural disaster, Facebook sends them a notification asking if everything is okay. From the app's dashboard, users can then see which of their friends are in the same area and whether they are safe or not, based on the answers they have sent to Facebook.
Once the user has confirmed that they have not been harmed, a safety check notification will appear in their friends' feeds.
Hopefully, we'll never have to use this tool. Natural disasters aren't a very common occurrence. Facebook is trying to provide a solution for situations where communications are impossible, but also to get you to enable location control on your devices.
Facebook says:
Control notifications | Report that you are safe | See how others are doing |
If it appears you are near a natural disaster, we will ask you if you are safe. | If you are safe, press the “I am safe” button to instantly notify your friends and loved ones. | We'll let you know when your friends report they're safe. You can also see a list of your friends who may have been affected by the disaster. |
