It's meant more as a service to people looking for their loved ones. For weeks after 9/11 people were posting "lost" posters attempting to find their family and friends in the hopes that they were still alive. Services were made that allowed people to see if names were on the list of confirmed deceased etc. The bottom line is that this kind of site allows people to quickly get information in a consolidated place - the information could be coming from rescue workers, or volunteers - and they may not have the access or the time to find someones Facebook to post a friendly message to the family.

My mother does not have any social network accounts or email. If she lived in New Zealand, how can I make sure she's okay assuming I cannot reach her by phone? I would want every possible method of checking on her available to me.

Your lack of imagination astounds me. I suspect that you realise that your original comment was hopelessly flawed, but you now refuse to admit it.

Many people don't use the Facebook. Lots of people use eMail, but there's been an earthquake. Their workplaces are buried. Their computers are under rubble. The majority of eMail users do not know how to configure a new PC to access their eMail. They've relied on it just working on their existing systems. That's gone. There are so many other things that could stop people using their eMail or their Facebook page.

What's needed is a single, central information collator and provider. That's what has been created.