$10 million donated on Facebook for Nepal earthquake relief in only two days

Just two days after Facebook introduced the Donate button to help people who suffered in the Nepal earthquake, the social networking platform was able to collect over $10 million. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement in an official Facebook post.


More than half a million users donated to support the International Medical Corps, a global organisation that is helping with relief efforts in earthquake-stricken Nepal.

Facebook will also donate an additional $2 million to help those affected by the large scale destruction caused by earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April. The earthquake has killed more than 6, 000 people and left 70, 000 homeless. More than 13, 000 have also been injured.

Facebook had in October, 2014 also launched a ‘Safety Check’ button which enables users to update their current safety status and location in times of disaster. After the Nepal quake, Facebook activated this for Nepal as well and according to Zuckerberg over 7 million were marked safe via the button.

It should be noted though that a lot of people who might not have been part of the epicentre in Nepal did mark themselves as safe on Facebook, so the 7 million number needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless it is a useful feature given how important social media has become in times of disaster and even relief efforts. 

You can read Mark Zuckerberg’s comment:

We’ve seen our community come together in some amazing ways since the earthquake in Nepal. We activated Safety Check and more than 7 million people in the area have been marked as safe. More than 150 million friends were notified and those updates let people rest easier and relief efforts remain focused.
We gave people the option on Facebook to support local relief efforts. In two days, more than half a million people donated and raised more than $10 million to support the International Medical Corps relief effort. Facebook will donate an additional $2 million to local recovery efforts to help those in affected areas.
In times of crisis, the need to connect and share becomes even more critical. WhatsApp and Messenger are being used in Nepal and across the region to get help. Aid workers are using Groups to coordinate and figure out how to get to affected areas. Journalists and media outlets are using Instagram as their primary way to share photos of the events.
It is inspiring to see our community coming together to help people in their time of need. We’re grateful to be serving you, and for all your efforts to support those affected by the Nepal earthquake.