Social Media Key In Soothing Worried Families Following Hurricane Patricia

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It's been an agonizing 24 hours for many local families unable to reach family and friends after Hurricane Patricia.

The Mexican Consulate in Sacramento would usually take the lead in connecting people with family and friends. But now people are thanking a new tool on social media for that.

Things look normal here at Sacramento's Nuevo Vallarta restaurant. But Irma Overby says nothing's the same without peace of mind.

"All our family is in Puerto Vallarta," Overby said.

Hurricane Patricia tore through her small mountain town of El Tuito. Entire villages are now raging rivers.

"They got everybody out in time," Overby said.

Before Overby's family and friends lost communication, they shared pictures of their makeshift church shelter and managed to check themselves into Facebook's "Safety Check" – a new system created after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake to let disaster victims check in with family and friends.

"She's in Guadalajara, she's in El Tuito," Overby said.

But for hours after that, Overby nervously waited for updates.

"There's no communication in the small town where we're from," Overby said.

Until the phone finally rang again. Overby's aunt picked up and the family is OK. Mexican officials are assessing the destruction, she told Irma.

"You have no idea the relief that we have now," Overby said.

The fear isn't over. Potential mudslides and major damage still threaten millions, including a local musician's family.

"Very scary. Almost like a night with no sleep," Dinorah Klingler said.

Klingler's niece wanted to ride out the storm in her house boat in Jalisco, one of the hardest hit areas.

"She didn't want to go anywhere else. But when she saw everyone else leaving their boat, she said 'I'm going to leave,'" Klingler said.

Her niece ended up seeking safe shelter.

Overby is still waiting to see if her flooded home in Puerto Vallarta is still livable.