SafeTampa

Loading Page
Shelters and Search Bar
Shelter Details and Logging Option for Owners
Hazards Reporting and Option to Report Hazard
FEMA Info
Sync and Offline
Satellite Mode
Mesh Network
Storm Modes and Settings
Full Map

Inspiration

Florida, especially Tampa, frequently faces hurricanes, flooding, and severe weather events. During these emergencies, internet connectivity often becomes unreliable or completely unavailable. However, people still need access to shelters, hazard updates, and emergency guidance.

We were inspired by the idea of building a disaster coordination tool that works even when connectivity fails. Many emergency apps rely heavily on real time internet access, which may not be available during hurricanes or power outages. We wanted to create something that prioritizes reliability, accessibility, and climate resilience.

SafeTampa was designed as an offline first emergency coordination platform focused specifically on Tampa. Our goal was to create a practical and realistic tool that could help communities stay informed and make safer decisions during disasters.

What it does

SafeTampa is an offline first disaster coordination web app designed for hurricanes, flooding, and outages in Tampa.

The app allows users to:

Find nearby shelters in Tampa
Filter shelters by pet friendly, ADA, medical, family friendly, and least crowded
Track shelter crowding using anonymous check ins
Report hazards such as floods, debris, blocked roads, and unsafe areas
View flood zones and evacuation areas
Access FEMA style emergency guidance
Use emergency mode with simplified UI
Generate emergency summaries
Use the app offline during outages
Queue updates and sync later when connectivity returns

SafeTampa also simulates low connectivity disaster scenarios including:

Offline caching
Sync queue behavior
Satellite ready payload simulation
Mesh networking simulation

These features help SafeTampa remain useful during real world climate emergencies.

How we built it

SafeTampa was built as a frontend first, offline capable web application.

We used:

React for UI development
Vite for fast development and builds
Leaflet for map functionality
OpenStreetMap for map data
LocalStorage and IndexedDB for offline data storage

We designed the app using an offline first architecture. Shelter data, hazard reports, and emergency information are stored locally so the app continues working even without internet.

We also created simulated sync queues and low bandwidth communication features to demonstrate how the system could work during real disaster scenarios.

The app was deployed using Vercel for free hosting and easy deployment.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was designing an offline first architecture. Most web apps assume constant connectivity, but we had to design SafeTampa to work even without internet.

We also faced challenges with:

Managing local storage and cached data
Designing sync queue behavior
Building a map first interface
Simulating realistic disaster coordination features
Keeping the project feasible for a beginner team

Balancing realism with simplicity was another challenge. We wanted SafeTampa to feel like a real emergency coordination tool while still being achievable within a hackathon timeframe.