Emergency crews respond to an explosion on Brussels' subway.
Philip Reynaers/Photo News S.A./Corbis
Facebook activated its tool to help people stay in touch after fatal terrorist bombings struck the airport and subway in Brussels on Tuesday.
The social network tool, also used after November terrorist attacks in Paris, lets people tells their contacts that they're safe. It's one of the many ways the Inteet has become an essential tool in responding to crises.
Like Facebook, the Red Cross offers an online tool where people can say they're safe or try to find others. However, it didn't appear that Google's Person Finder, a pioneering service for emergency responses, was active.
In the Belgian capital, the govement tued to Twitter to inform the public of closures. The govement's crisis center also urged people to use Inteet communications after the telephone network was overwhelmed. Later, it added, "Belgian Crisis Center for people calling from outside of Belgium: +3278151771. Try reaching people through social media first."
Brussels shut its airport and public transit system after two explosions hit the Zaventem airport at about 8 a.m. local time Tuesday, according to the Belgian govement's crisis center. Later in the moing, an explosion sent smoke up from Brussels' Maalbeek metro station, according to reports from the Guardian and Politico.
"There are many dead, many injured," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said in a press conference after the attacks, according to the Associated Press. Belgian health and subway officials said 26 people were killed, the AP reported.
European Council President Donald Tusk called the explosions terrorist bombings and said the European Union, which is headquartered in Brussels, "will fulfill its role to help Brussels, Belgium and Europe as a whole counter the terror threat which we are all facing."
The Inteet has become a central part of such crises. It's used for disseminating emergency information and helping affected people find one another. It also ensures that terrorist attacks get extensive attention.
Phones aren't just for recounting what happened, though. UK police asked that people with photos and videos of the bombings to upload them to its website to help with the investigation.