| App file name | OpenSalve.apk |
| Team Name | OpenSalve |
| Short Description | OpenSalve is an application that aids in live disaster management and after-disaster relief process in an area struck by a natural disaster. |
| License | GPL License |
| Country | India |
| Authors |
Aswin G |
OpenSalve is an application that aids in live disaster management and after-disaster relief process in an area struck by a natural disaster, such as a flood or a hurricane.
Our inspiration for developing this application comes from the Kerala floods. Kerala is our home state in southern India, and was hit by devastating floods a few months ago. Several relief-camps were set up and tens of thousands of people had to shift to these camps. Due to general lack of coordination and communication, several people lost their lives due to not being rescued in time. Many suffered from starvation and other problems due to essential resources like food, clothing and medicines not reaching them. People who were ready to donate such resources had a hard time finding collection centers where they could donate what they can.
OpenSalve is an all-in-one application that aims to solve these problems.
The public would be able to see an interactive map of the affected areas. They can request help and pinpoint the location at which someone is trapped, for rescue, and also request for resources such as food, or ask for medical attention.
Resource collection centers can be added to the map, so the public and various organizations can see places where they can donate supplies, along with what kinds of supplies are needed urgently at each place.
The public would also be able to see relief camps on the map and complete information about the relief camps, such as the people residing in them, the supplies needed etc.
Apart from the public which can use the app without logging in, the various volunteers and officers coordinating the relief and rescue efforts can login through a volunteer account. Keys for volunteer accounts is generated and distributed from our backend. New accounts cannot be registered through the app to prevent anyone from gaining access to volunteer privileges.
Users with a valid volunteer account will have privileges to add locations of resource collection centers, relief camps etc, as well as the more granular information needed from relief camps as mentioned above. They can use the list of inhabitants to keep track of everyone who is residing presently at a camp instead of having to rely on pen-and-paper records.
Another important factor when a large scale disaster is taking place is the accuracy and speed of communication. During Kerala floods important announcements was often being propagated over Facebook and Whatsapp, which lead to fake news spreading and large time delays before the announcements reached everyone. OpenSalve has an “Important News” section that provides a single, reliable, and immediately updated source for all the important announcements made by authorities during this time. Those who are registered as volunteers can add announcements or remove outdated ones.
Such an application can be invaluable in coordinating relief efforts for many kinds of disasters, and can very well save human lives in the future.
While the app is complete as of now, in future updates we are hoping to add a blockchain-based system to keep track of payments/donations made by the people as well as the usage of these funds by officials. This prevents corruption and increases transparency, and would encourage more people to donate money as they can see exactly where and how the money is being spent.
Link to repo with backend code: OpenSalve-backend
Please wait a few seconds after opening the app to load the data from the backend, as the free tier of Heroku has a small wake up time before it becomes active.
Use the username "testing" and password "testing" to gain access to a sample volunteer account. (This is also mentioned in the app itself)
Watch the demo video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lPh9CAzY-j4