NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Kathmandu, Nepal, September 8, 2026: As families continue searching for loved ones following the devastating floods in Nepal, a free online mapping platform is offering a way to connect missing-person reports with information coming directly from affected areas.
SafeMap Reunite allows families to report missing people, survivors to mark themselves safe, and people on the ground to share sightings and real-time information about roads, shelters, resources and other local conditions.
For families searching for someone, the platform allows them to add a missing person along with a photograph, last-known location, contact information and other available details. People in affected areas who encounter someone whose identity is unknown can similarly add that person to the map, potentially creating a match.
Users who are safe can also mark their location and make themselves available as contacts for people seeking information from that area.
The platform was created by Swapnil Singh of IIT Bhubaneswar and Ananya Singh and Kanishka Pandey of XLRI Delhi, as a crowdsourced tool to help bridge the information gap during the disaster.
Beyond missing-person searches, SafeMap functions as a local information board. Anyone on the ground can drop a pin to report sightings, road conditions, shelters, resources or other potentially useful information. The more specific and recent the information, the more useful it can be to families trying to establish what happened in a particular location.
The map can also be searched for existing reports, allowing users to look for names or information from specific areas and contact those who posted relevant information, either directly or through SafeMap.
The initiative comes as families separated by the flooding turn to social media, community networks and other channels for information about missing relatives. For those outside Nepal, including families in the United States and elsewhere in the diaspora, obtaining reliable information from remote or badly affected areas can be particularly difficult.
The crowdsourced nature of the platform means information posted by individual users should not automatically be treated as independently verified. Users are encouraged to provide precise locations and the most recent information available, and families should corroborate reports whenever possible.
Still, during a disaster in which communication networks and transportation routes may be disrupted, even a recent sighting or accurate last-known location can provide an important lead.
SafeMap’s creators are asking people to share the platform widely, particularly with those in flood-affected communities and anyone searching for a missing loved one.
Link to the map: SafeMap Reunite – Find Loved Ones & Share Area Info
