ReliefLine

Source: Dev.to

What I Built

ReliefLine is a disaster‑relief planning platform that replaces guesswork with data‑driven precision. It bridges the gap between global alerts and local response in the Philippines by providing:

• Smart Relief Calculator – Instantly generates supply budgets (rice, water, family packs) based on official Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) standards and census data.
• Real‑Time Monitoring – Aggregates live disaster feeds from global monitoring systems into a single dashboard.
• Educational Hub – Offline‑friendly guides to help Filipinos abroad and locals understand disaster preparedness.
• Impact Visualizer – Shows donors exactly what their contribution funds (e.g., “Feed 5 families for 2 days”).

The Philippines faces ~20 typhoons a year, affecting millions of lives. When disaster strikes, relief planning is often reactive—planners guess how much rice or water is needed, leading to waste or shortages. ReliefLine standardizes this process for two distinct groups:

• Global Filipinos – Including the 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and the wider population who sent home $37 billion in remittances last year, requiring transparency to donate effectively.
• Local Agencies – NGOs and Local Government Units (LGUs) covering 40 000 barangays that need accurate, compliant logistics tools to distribute aid faster.

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Demo

• Live Site: https://relief-line.vercel.app
• Calculator: Select “Metro Manila,” enter a population, and see the exact relief budget required.
• Updates: Check the “Updates” tab for live, aggregated disaster feeds.
• Impact: Use the “How You Can Help” tool to see donation purchasing power.
• Guides: Download the print‑optimized disaster‑preparedness manuals.

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The Stack

• Frontend: Next.js 14 (App Router), React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Next.js API Routes, PostgreSQL + Drizzle ORM
• Visuals: Mapbox GL JS for geospatial data (work in progress)
• Data Sources: GDACS, USGS, Ambee, NewsData.io, PSGC (Census)

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Key Features

• Intelligent Aggregation – Merges disaster data from 4+ sources (including GDACS and USGS) using coordinate‑based matching (within 200 km) to deduplicate events.
• DSWD‑Compliant Math – “Digitized” the official Social Welfare manual; calculations follow government formulas (e.g., 1.2 kg rice/person/day, 15 % overhead buffer).
• Smart Caching – Aggressive caching for external APIs to handle high traffic and rate limits during emergencies.
• Offline‑First – Educational content is lightweight and print‑ready for low‑bandwidth areas.

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Challenges Solved

• Location Mapping – Built a fuzzy‑matching system to link generic disaster alerts (e.g., “Storm near Luzon”) to specific provinces and barangays in the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) database.
• Data Deduplication – Created logic to merge overlapping reports from quake sensors (USGS) and storm trackers (GDACS) into single, actionable events.

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Data & Accuracy Disclosure

• Disaster Feeds: All alerts (typhoons, earthquakes) are live, real‑time data pulled from USGS, GDACS, and NewsData.io.
• Formulas: Relief calculations strictly follow the official DSWD Disaster Response Operations Guidelines.
• Geography: Location data (provinces, cities, barangays) sourced from the official Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC).
• Population: Data is currently fictional but will be integrated with 2024 consensus results for greater accuracy.
• Pricing: Estimates are static for the demo and do not reflect real‑time inflation or regional price variances.