Now you can look for evacuees, evacuation centers through this app

A one-stop mobile application that allows people to locate evacuees and check out information about evacuation centers around the restive Taal Volcano has been launched.

Created by the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH) Colleges in Batangas, the "Bakwitfinder" app provides vital information about specific evacuation centers, including among others the number of families, individuals, and the origin of the evacuees inside each of them, as well as their immediate needs.

Through its "Search Person" option, users can also locate in which evacuation center an individual is staying in by typing in their first and last name.

“The possibility of another major disaster in the Philippines is not a matter of where, but when," FAITH College of Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) Dean Alice Lacorte said in a statement.

"By creating a database of these kinds of information, people affected will be given better assistance and evacuees that need more attention can be focused on," she added.

The public may access the online database by visiting its website or downloading the app by scanning the QR code below.

According to the website, the application is reliant on data given by evacuation centers.

“The app's effectivity is dependent on the data collected or gathered by the team so those encoded in the database can be searched," Lacorte said.

Due to this, Lacorte appealed local government units and evacuation centers to assist to complete data for the application.

“We will need close coordination with government units who are handling the information of the evacuees,” she added.

As of present, Bakwitfinder has 484 registered evacuation centers, according to the statement.

Lacorte further said that features such as the monitoring of donations, distribution of relief goods, and evacuees living with friends or relatives will also be added. — Joahna Lei Casilao/MDM, GMA News