SARASOTA, Fla. — A new app to help with the aftermath of a natural disaster is being tested in the Sarasota region.
The app designed by Sarasota resident, Heather Hackett, is called "Local Relief."
"Especially with storms and hurricanes, I have been here 20 years, long enough to know that's always in motion and that's always changing, where flooded areas are, and even after," Heather Hackett, Creator of the Local Relief app, said.
The app aims to connect people with valuable local resources and up-to-date information during emergencies, like hurricanes.
It's styled as a one-stop shop for neighbors before or in the aftermath of a disaster and would connect them with different organizations that are helping disaster victims in the community.
"Imagine a social media platform dedicated to natural disasters," Hackett said.
Along with information about resources, this app gives neighbors and organizations an avenue to lend a helping hand.
"Where to get the supplies, who has supplies, who has gas who has tarps, you know, who has gas cans and all that stuff and generators you know things along those lines," she said.
The designer says this app will also provide hyper-local resources and efforts at your fingertips in real-time, omitting the need to scroll past other content you'd find in a traditional social media feed.
"We had a hurricane right over our head and I'm going on Facebook and I'm finding friends of mine that were in Greece, friends of mine that are posting their dog pictures and their kid pictures or whatever when there's a storm here and when you know it's knocking on your door all you want to do is saturate yourself with it," she said.
Hackett is working with Sarasota County's emergency management in the initial testing and implementation phase. Depending on its success, the goal is to expand beyond the Sarasota region and see the app helping rally relief for global disasters.
"Imagine the biggest bulletin board you can possibly find, you know, where it's all of that stuff for your, for your city, your area, you know and we can create unlimited groups just like Facebook," Hackett said.
The app is live and available for download in your app store and a desktop version is currently also in the works.