IT engineers develop real-time rescue map for flood-hit regions in 4 hours

Between 11 p.m. on Oct. 7 to 3 a.m. on Oct. 8, programmer Tu Tat Huan and AI product developer Nguyen Thi Mai Anh launched the website thongtincuuho.org designed to help flood-affected residents connect with aid.

The website collects and displays rescue requests in real time, aggregating data shared by the public on social media. "People only need to comment on any rescue-related post on the project’s social media page," Huan says. "The system will then automatically detect the comment, extract the information, categorize it, and display it on the map."

It began last week when, stuck in traffic on Tran Duy Hung Street in Hanoi during heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Bualoi last week, Huan conceived the idea of building a real-time traffic map.

Trapped in his car for five hours as floodwaters paralyzed traffic, he opened his laptop and began coding what later became the demo version of Vntraffic.app.

The app collects data from social media and combines it with traffic camera footage to assess road conditions, showing real-time congestion and flooded areas. "I used to tell my wife to turn on the radio for traffic updates, but sometimes the information was outdated," he says. "So, I wanted to make an app that provides the latest traffic events."

An user checks the rescue map at thongtincuuho.org for real-time updates. Photo by VnExpress/Trong Dat

On Tuesday evening, after learning of the severe flooding in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, Huan and Anh decided to adapt the traffic app into a rescue map overnight. It collects rescue requests and displays them on an interactive map in real time.

Meanwhile, by Wednesday morning the water level in the Cau River in Thai Nguyen had risen to 29.9 meters, surpassing the historic peak of 2024 by more than one meter. An unrelenting downpour caused rivers in the region to swell rapidly, submerging large areas of the city, with water levels rising to the second floor of buildings in some places, forcing occupants onto rooftops and hope for rescue.

As heavy rain and flooding affected several northern provinces, the developers expanded the platform to cover additional areas including Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Lang Son, and Cao Bang. Users can access dedicated maps for each locality through the navigation bar in the upper-left corner of the website

Drawing on her experience in rescue operations, Anh says the project aims to make it easier for people to take part in relief efforts. "Rescue operations are not simple for non-experts, so we focus only on the first step, precisely identifying the areas where people need help."

In less than a day the rescue map got over 3,000 users. Vntraffic.app has received nearly 4,000 daily visits since launch. Huan says since both platforms were built in a short time they are still being refined. "Our team is still working on system improvements and has not had time to fully address all feedback."

The two developers plan to maintain both platforms. Huan says server and Google Maps fees are costly but "Luckily, we have received a collaboration offer from a business, which will ease the operational burden."

He says several other developers have contacted them and offered to join the initiative. The goal is to "prepare the necessary tools to assist any area in need of help."