Facebook makes it easier to communicate during disasters
You can mark yourself "safe" and access other information in the Lite version of the app.
Facebook is making it easier to access its services in crisis situations.
Facebook is expanding its Community Help feature to the Lite version of its app.
This will enable people to mark themselves "safe" in crisis situations, share updates, and find or offer help.
The feature was previously only available in the full versions of Facebook's apps or on browsers. The Lite version of the social network's app takes up less space on your phone. It's designed to eat up less data and can work on 2G networks if 3G or LTE fail.
The social media giant announced the rollout at a disaster response forum it hosted in Miami on Monday, Bloomberg reported. It comes a year after Florida was slammed by Hurricane Irma and days before Hurricane Florence is expected to hit the East Coast.
"Our priority is to build tools that provide people with ways to get the help they need to recover and rebuild after a crisis," Jeong-Suh Choi, Facebook's crisis response product manager, said in an emailed statement.
"By making Community Help available on Facebook Lite, even more people can get the help they need in times of crisis."
First published at 5:56 a.m. PT.
Update, 11:40 a.m. PT: Adds statement from Facebook.