DonateAssist

Overview

Parties deposit ETH into a contract which releases funds to local authorities if prescribed 24 hour rainfall parameters are met. This allows rapid, targeted and transparent assistance to cities affected by flooding.

There are two deposit mechanisms. Firstly, cities add funds to the contract as a form of pooled insurance. If the threshold/s are met then funds are withdrawn proportionally to the cities affected. Secondly, there is also a "Pot" that private citizens, NGOs and other parties can contribute to. If the threshold is met then this is distributed with the same ratio.

In practice, it is likely that only one city would meet the threshold at any one time due low likelihood of flooding occurring in two cities in the same period.

We used the New Zealand cities of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in this demo.

The project uses the AccuWeather Chainlink Node to provide accurate weather data.

Network: Kovan

Software: Remix

The Problem

• Flooding is a significant source of property damage, loss of life and economic disruption The prevalence of flooding is expected to increase in the coming decades due to climate change

• With greater urbanisation there are increased costs associated with flooding in cities

• In the event of a flood, funds are required rapidly to provide shelter and provisions for those impacted

Status Quo

• There are often delays around access to funds
• In developing countries, there are often concerns around corruption and the effective distribution of funds

Our Solution

• Smart contracts enable the quick and transparent distribution of assistance as funds are held until parameters specified in the contract are met
• Councils, NGOs and everyday citizens are able to contribute funds from anywhere in the world instantly and with low costs
• An AccuWeather oracle provides data to smart contract. This established and verifiable source of data ensures that the distribution is trusted

Mechanics of Approach

1. Cities are provided with wallets. These are hardcoded into the smart contract
2. Parties add funds to the contract
3. Each city has a 24 hour rainfall parameter set in the contract
4. If there is heavy rainfall, then the city can trigger the oracle to check the amount of rainfall
5. If the value returned exceeds the city’s parameter then funds are released to the city

Reflection

This project has been a great way to learn about blockchain and implementing Chainlink. The use of weather data in smart contracts is an exciting area and particularly in the developing world where there can be minimal legal and insurance infrastructure.

This is our first submitted hackathon project and we think the idea has potential more broadly such as distributing funds directly to NGOs. We worked solely within Remix and used Patrick Collins' great tutorials extensively.

Challenges included accessing appropriate weather data and working across very different time zones.

Built With

• remix
• solidity