Google Maps get new features that could save thousands of lives

[droid]

Over the past couple of years, software and technology have become considerably more aware of the user. This extends from using biometrics to unlock your phone, to having your vitals regularly checked by a smartwatch on your wrist, to getting pestered by a digital well-being assistant. Health monitoring as a whole has proven to be potentially life-saving many times on an individual scale. But what about large groups of people, possibly the populations of entire cities, who may be at risk?

Google Maps already provides relevant information during times of crisis with SOS alerts. These include real-time updates on the situation, a map of the affected area, emergency contact information, and translations for common phrases in the local language. With the latest update to Maps, SOS alerts are expanding with more detailed visuals and a new crisis navigation system will try its best to get you—and potentially hundreds, if not thousands of others—out of harm's way.