How to report road closures on Maps during a crisis

[AriMar]

Recently, we announced that we’ll be sharing a series of articles on Connect that explain some meaningful ways you can contribute as a Local Guide during an earthquake, flood, or other type of natural disaster or manmade crisis. 

When a crisis occurs in your community, one of the most helpful things you can do is report a road closure on the Google Maps app to help others navigate out of danger. 

Watch the video below to learn how. 

You can add a road closure to the Google Maps app when you’re located within a crisis area. Here’s how:

On Android

1. In the Explore tab on Maps, tap the crisis card 
2. Tap Report road closure
3. Pinch and zoom in to find the road you want to report on
4. Select the road by tapping and sliding your finger along the affected road
5. When the correct area has been highlighted, tap Next on the top right of the screen
6. You can then add details about the closure
7. Tap Send

Caption: An image of two phones that shows how to select a road on Google Maps (left) and how to report a road closure (right).

On iOS

1. In the Explore tab on Maps, tap the crisis card 
2. Tap Report road closure
3. Tap the road that is closed. A pin will appear on the map once the road is selected 
4. When the correct area has been highlighted, tap Next on the bottom right of the screen
5. You can then add a note with more details about the closure 
6. Tap the arrow on the top right of the screen
7. Tap Done

Alternatively, you can always report a road closure by adding a pin to the affected road, even when you don’t see the crisis marked on the map. 

Please always consider your safety and the safety of others first. Your priority during a crisis should always be to get yourself and loved ones out of danger. Please do not report road closures until you are in a safe place. 

Click here to read this post in Japanese.

Click here to read this post in Spanish.