Inspiration: The increasing frequency of natural disasters and the growing need for climate action served as the impetus for the creation of HazardHub. Around the world, communities are becoming more vulnerable as climate change intensifies. Our goal was to develop a system that tackles the communication and public awareness gaps that we observed during catastrophes. Thus, when we saw that UN SDG number 13 was about climate action, we wanted to make our project about that to ensure we have a world to grow up in.
What it does: An app called HazardHub was created to inform people about impending natural disasters and help them survive. It provides in-depth details on many kinds of natural catastrophes, survival advice, and a search and rescue system that is location-based. In an emergency, the app also offers a communication platform to facilitate connections between users and rescue personnel.
How we built it: The HazardHub team began by looking into frequent natural disasters and how they affected local communities. The app was then created with important features that will take care of these problems. A user-friendly interface had to be designed, and a variety of technologies, including notification systems, location-based services, and communication tools, had to be integrated. We also included text-to-speech translation and other accessibility features to make the app useable for a larger user base.
Challenges we ran into: We ran into quite a few problems while working on this project. First of all, since we are all high schoolers we didn't possess the technical knowledge needed to make an app, but we researched different technologies and focused on the aesthetic and functionality of the app itself. We also had some differences when it comes to the direction of the project, but at the end of the day we learned to set aside our differences and compromised to create this project.
Accomplishments that we're proud of: We take great pride in having developed an app that could potentially save lives in the event of a natural disaster, especially since coming into this hackathon, we did not have the necessary knowledge to create an app. We not only learned about the process of creating one, and we also created the concept of one that we can potentially turn into reality in the future. At the end of the day, we were able to create a platform that increases public awareness, facilitates better communication in case of emergency, and offers vital information that raises survival rates.
What we learned: The creation of HazardHub taught us how crucial it is to communicate clearly in times of emergency. We learned more about the difficulties in responding to disasters and the importance of trustworthy information sources. We learned how to strike a compromise between the need for location-based services and user privacy through this project. We also understood how important it was to include accessibility features in order to broaden the app's user base.
What's next for CEEJ Search & Rescue: CEEJ Search & Rescue plans to create the app using technologies that we've researched. Once the app is created, we plan to expand HazardHub internationally, providing guidance and resources to regions beyond the United States. Our future efforts will focus on conducting case studies of previous disasters to refine our survival guides and improve the app's effectiveness. We also intend to add a sub-category that addresses chronic natural disasters, like climate change, and offers tips on how to combat them. By continuously updating and expanding HazardHub, we aim to make it a valuable tool for disaster preparedness and response worldwide.
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