Anticipating the Tides: Navigating Flood Impacts
FloodWise addresses the significant impact of flooding on coastal communities by highlighting the need for enhanced awareness and predictive tools to help residents and businesses plan for and mitigate disruptions.
At A Glance
Flooding, the leading natural disaster in the United States, accounts for 40% of all natural disasters and results in a staggering $3.5 billion in annual flood insurance claims. Beyond the immediate devastation of property damage and loss of life, floods disrupt utilities, paralyze businesses and transportation, decimate agriculture, and expose communities to waterborne diseases. These aren't just inconveniences; they create profound, long-term impacts on people's livelihoods, company operations, and overall quality of life.
Challenge
For residents of Hampton Roads and countless coastal communities worldwide, rising sea levels present a pressing challenge. Flooding causes significant disruption to daily life, from travel delays and property damage to utility outages and the interruption of essential services and small businesses. These aren't isolated incidents; they carry substantial costs and lasting effects on individual well-being and community resilience. However, many of these challenges can be mitigated through enhanced awareness and predictive insight. Empowering people and businesses to plan ahead or respond tactically in a more efficient way can significantly reduce both immediate hardship and long-term consequences.
Role:
UX/UI Designer
Deliverables:
App Prototype
Business Plan
Methods:
Secondary Research
Interviews
Surveys
Heuristic Evaluation
Personas
Storyboarding
Task Flows
Prototyping
Business Model Canvas
Tools:
Photoshop
Illustrator
Sketch
InVision
Landing & Home Page
The Home page provides dynamic updates from various FloodWise data sources. You'll find local weather conditions from the Wunderground API, with a click offering more detailed current weather information. The Alerts section lists flood alerts for your current or monitored locations, and you can easily track multiple areas simultaneously using the Places section.
Prepare Page
The Prepare page provides information to help guide users through the different stages of flooding. Information drawn from various emergency aid and flood preparation organizations are included.
Alerts Page
The Alerts page provides a list of all alerts that affect the user and any contacts that they have added in FloodWise. Additional details are available for each alert.
Places Page
The Places page provides the user with a listing and short status of the locations they are monitoring. By clicking a location users are able to gain additional details on flood alerts in that area such as contacts located in each location.
People Page
The People page allows users to add and search for people in their contacts and social networking sites. You can monitor certain people by creating an alert if their area is affected by flooding.
Maps Page
The Map page includes customizable filters and views that each user can configure to provide the match the information they are looking for. The search feature allows a user to find new locations to monitor.