PackAdvisor: Disaster Supply Kit Assembly Application
Project date: March 2025
Project link available here (GitHub).
Notes: I like the idea for this project a lot, but it’d probably be better if it had more time to polish up past the few hours we spent for the hackathon, and you know, actually fully implement its designed functionality. This project will likely remain how it is since working on app development isn’t the biggest of my priorities currently, and making this into a usable and safe product in the real world would be very difficult to ensure by the app’s nature. Still, I think there are a lot of real usecases for applications that help out in natural disasters, and this project is my and my team’s small attempt at building such an app.
As an aside, this was also the first ever hackathon my teammates and I had done, and I honestly found it fairly intimidating going in, so through that lens I’m proud we were able to accomplish something like this on our first try.
This app was developed as a team by myself, Pranav Dodda, Aaron Xu, and Caleb Pham, for the Record Hacks Spring 2025 hackathon run by Freetail Hackers and held at the University of Texas at Austin. It was additionally awarded ‘Best Pitch’ for the hackathon for my individual pitch of the application.
Disclaimer: as a hackathon project, this application does not have complete functionality and is not an official emergency preparedness guide. We do not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or suitability of the suggested supplies for every individual or situation. If you choose to use this app, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk and that the developers are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from its use.
Design Outline
Disaster supply kits (sometimes also known as bug-out bags, go bags, etc.) contain all the essential supplies necessary for surviving through natural disasters; governments and agencies worldwide, including the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provide official guidelines for assembling kits for a variety of situations. However, people who have not taken these steps beforehand may be caught unprepared during an emergency, and may not have proper time to research detailed lists of adequate supplies to take.
PackAdvisor aims to solve this issue by providing a quick interface for specifying your emergency and situation, and generating a list of supplies programatically tailored to your needs. Supply lists are pre-planned and based on current prevailing recommendations from FEMA and other organizations, so you know that the information you receive is reliable and well-researched. The list automatically adjusts itself depending on your time constraints and carrying capacity. As such, the app is easy and intuitive to use, even in a stressful emergency situation where users may be unable to think clearly.
In addition to the core feature of immediate emergency planning, PackAdvisor also allows for long-term, non-urgent planning, to help users build comprehensive disaster supply kits in accordance with official recommendations. PackAdvisor also contains educational features aimed at children aged 8-13, which can be used independently or in the classroom to raise disaster awareness and prepare families for emergency situations.
The application was designed with a backend written in Python, using the Flask framework, and a frontend written in JavaScript with React.