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.