Students help Canadians become tornado wise at national hackathon

While the hot, humid summer weather increases the tornado risk for Canadians, two students in Fanshawe’s Web Development and Internet Applications, and Geographic Information Systems programs are working to create safer, tornado-resilient communities.

Martha Paiz’s and Malcolm Melbourne’s work was recognized at the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) and GoGeomatics Canada national student hackathon. They finished in third place.

“It felt good as we put a lot into this project, so when we found out we were the top three finalists, it was very rewarding and had us ‘twisting’ with excitement,” said Melbourne.

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Martha Paiz and Malcolm Melbourne present their TornadoWise project virtually at the CCMEO Student Hackathon. Image retrieved from Geomatics.ca.

The hackathon tasked contestants with developing an innovative solution to enhance decision-making, operational efficiency, public awareness or policy/program development based on emergency management or disaster preparedness and response. 

The duo focused on tornadoes because Paiz’s background in geography and growing up in Southern Ontario – where tornadoes are common – resonated with her. For Melbourne, his first-hand experience with a tornado in Ottawa was also a factor. That 2018 storm knocked out power to certain areas for 52 hours. 

“The weather is changing, meaning we need to expect the worst and we’re not prepared in any way to handle more frequent and powerful tornadoes,” Melbourne said. “I believe most Canadians have rarely considered, or truly understood, the impact that tornadoes can have on their lives.”

To help create safer communities and to assist policymakers in making good decisions, they developed TornadoWise, a website with interactive maps that gives important information to users about tornadoes in Canada. The information includes where tornadoes occur and their paths, land cover specifications, building footprints, average property values, climate anomalies, weather station alerts and data, and topographic information. 

“Maps are powerful tools for visualizing complex data and highlighting geographical trends,” Paiz said. “The goal is to foster communities' resilience by equipping them to handle tornadoes through raising awareness about the underlying causes of increased tornado activity in our region.”

The website provides two maps – one for residents and one for policymakers. For residents, it helps them understand tornado risks and identify hazards. At the same time, the policymaker map identifies high-risk areas for tornadoes, allowing policymakers to effectively prioritize resources and develop policies based on community needs. This increases the overall safety and welfare of residents located within their area, said Melbourne.

Each map is layered with different data. Users can select and overlay various datasets to understand tornado activity on communities, fostering informed decision-making among residents and policymakers while increasing resilience against tornado-related challenges in Southern Canada. 

Paiz and Melbourne used JavaScript and Leaflet Maps library, which allows for the integration of OpenStreetMap as the base map. Web Map Services (WMS) were also incorporated, supplying various thematic layers that enrich the map's analytical capability. On the backend, a toggle mechanism was implemented to facilitate a selective display of layers. Certain WMS layers are equipped with predefined legends, which were integrated into the interface to assist users in interpreting the data accurately. The search function was included to increase utility, said Paiz.

What’s more, participating in the hackathon has been a learning experience for the team. They applied what they learned at Fanshawe to the project and gained an appreciation of the destructive power of tornadoes.

“It opened my eyes to the dangers of tornadoes, and I believe as a community, we should all be aware of the potential risks to our properties and lives,” said Melbourne. “We hope this tool is widely used.”

Paiz added the hackathon pushed her to learn new concepts and techniques, which increased her confidence as a programmer. While the competition is over, their work continues. They will continue to update their maps, giving residents and policymakers more information to make decisions.

“We decided to refine and improve our website and maps, turning this initiative into a side project through ongoing edits,” she said.