FORTIS

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Inspiration

We came up with FORTIS because preparing for an emergency can feel overwhelming. There is plenty of information online, but knowing where to start, what supplies to get, and what to do first is not always easy. We wanted to make something that helps people feel more prepared without making the process complicated or stressful.

What it does

FORTIS helps people create an emergency plan that fits their household. Users can choose the emergencies they want to prepare for, calculate how much water and other supplies they may need, and get a checklist of tasks to work through. They can also organize emergency contacts and meeting places, track their progress, and print or save their plan as a PDF.

How we built it

We built FORTIS using Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. Instead of depending on an AI API or a database, we used a set of rules and calculations to generate recommendations based on each household's needs. We also used local storage to save plans directly in the user's browser, so people can return to their progress without creating an account.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was figuring out how to make the recommendations useful for different households. A family with young children and pets has different needs from someone living alone, so we had to think carefully about how the plan should change based on each person's answers. We also wanted the app to be easy to use without leaving out important information. Making the supply calculations clear, keeping the design simple, and making the plan printable all took careful thought.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that FORTIS brings several important parts of emergency preparation into one place. Rather than just giving users a generic checklist, it adjusts recommendations to their household and helps them see what still needs to be done. We also made privacy a priority by keeping personal plan information in the browser instead of requiring an account or sending it to a database.

What we learned

We learned that building a useful product is about more than just writing code. We had to think about how real people would use the app, how to explain calculations clearly, and how to make recommendations helpful without promising more than the app can deliver. We also learned that a project can offer meaningful personalization without needing expensive AI services or a complicated backend.

What's next for FORTIS

We would like to make FORTIS even more useful by adding more location specific preparedness resources and improving support for people with accessibility needs. We also want to make it easier for households to share plans and keep their information up to date. Ultimately, we hope FORTIS can help people take small, practical steps toward being prepared before an emergency happens.

Built With

• css
• html
• javascript
• tsx
• typescript