A Boulder company is playing a key role in connecting survivors of Sunday’s devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo., with worried relatives.
Community resource software developed by Boulder-based VisionLink Software is powering the American Red Cross’ “Safe and Well” website, which allows disaster victims to join a registry that tells friends and family they are safe and where they can be found.
“We’ve been handling very heavy traffic on the Safe and Well website in the wake of the Joplin tornado,” said Douglas Zimmerman, president and chief executive of VisionLink.
In the first 24 hours after the tornado struck, the website was able to handle more than 40,000 searches, he said. By comparison, “on a typical day, we handle a few hundred searches,” Zimmerman said.
“It’s a pretty powerful tool,” he said.
So far, there have been roughly 1,000 matches between survivors and those looking for them, Zimmerman said Thursday.
Katherine Galifianakis, the Red Cross’ Washington, D.C.-based manager of Safe and Well, said that as of Thursday evening, there had been 82,549 searches on the website and 2,040 people had registered.
The Red Cross has moved computers into its shelters in Joplin. There, staff members are helping the disabled and people uncomfortable with computers to access the Safe and Well website, Galifianakis said.
She said VisionLink has been powering the website since July 2010.
VisionLink’s Zimmerman said a key component of the website is that it protects the privacy of survivors.
To access the site, visitors must provide basic information about the people they are looking for, such as a name, phone number and address. This allows information to be disseminated to appropriate visitors while protecting the privacy of registrants.
Zimmerman said the site is simple to use.
Survivors can enter their names and hit one of more than a dozen pre-entered responses, including: “I’m safe at a shelter,” “I’m staying with friends,” “I’m back at home” or “I’m at a hotel.”
In addition, they can add a narrative giving more details.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
