lifeboat

Inspiration

During Hurricane Harvey, emergency phone lines were overwhelmed. Rescue efforts were scattered as victims reached out for help on many different platforms, including ones that didn't necessarily have help lines, such as social media. In response to this, we created a web app to consolidate rescue efforts.

What it does

lifeboat displays a local Google map based on your zip code. Victims can fill out a form to request rescue that includes how many adults, children, and elderly are there, whether they are injured, any medical conditions they may have, and more. Based on their priority, a different colored marker is placed on the map. A potential rescuer can click on the marker. This displays the victim's information, and better matches rescuer to rescuee. Victims or rescuers can mark people as safe, which deletes the marker from the map to avoid clutter.

How we built it

We used the Google Maps API to pinpoint victims' locations. For the front end, we used Bootstrap, html, javascript, and css. For the backend, we used mysql for the database and php for the rest. We used Twilio to send the text message to the victim.

Challenges we ran into

Integrating the front and back ends, specifically with converting the address the victim gives into latitude and longitude in order to use the geocoding capabilities of the Google Maps API, as well as with using the information from the form they filled out on the front end to update their corresponding entry in the database.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Making a working website that helps others.

What we learned

We learned a lot more about web development and integrating APIs. For many of us, it was the first time implementing a full-fledged front end and back end web app.

What's next for lifeboat

Making it able to handle massive amounts of visitors and data. Making it more secure. Adding more helpful features.

Built With

• bootstrap
• css
• google-maps
• html
• javascript
• mysql
• php
• twilio