Port Moresby Power Outage Tracker

A Flask + MapLibre GL JS web application that tracks power outages across Port Moresby suburbs using an interactive map, automated data collection, analytics, and notification services.

The platform provides outage visibility through a dashboard, suburb-based search, status filtering, user reporting, and an administration system for managing verified outage information.

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Live Demo

View the deployed application:

https://power-outage-tracker-3ej2.onrender.com

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Purpose

This project was developed to demonstrate real-world infrastructure monitoring concepts by combining:

• Automated data collection
• Database management
• Web application development
• API integration
• Background task scheduling
• Notification systems
• Containerized deployment

The goal is to provide a centralized platform for monitoring and managing power outage information across Port Moresby suburbs.

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Features

Outage Monitoring

• Interactive outage map using MapLibre GL JS

• Colour-coded outage markers by suburb status

• Search and filtering by outage type:

  • Active
  • Planned
  • Restored
  • Emergency

• Real-time statistics dashboard

Data Collection & Automation

• Browser-based web scraper using Playwright
• Automated background updates using APScheduler
• SQLite database storage with duplicate prevention
• Automated outage status tracking

User Features

• User registration and login
• Favourite suburb subscriptions
• Personal outage dashboard
• Public outage reporting system
• Optional photo and location reporting

Verification System

Outages follow a verification workflow:

Reported
   ↓
Under Review
   ↓
Verified
   ↓
Active
   ↓
Restored

Confidence scoring combines:

• Number of reports
• Administrative verification
• Historical outage information

Notifications

Supports:

• Email notifications
• SMS notifications
• Suburb-based alerts

Users can subscribe to receive updates when outages are created or restored.

Weather Integration

• Weather data collection using OpenWeather
• Weather conditions stored with outage events
• Weather correlation analysis for identifying possible outage patterns

Analytics Dashboard

Provides:

• Total outages
• Active outages
• Planned outages
• Emergency outages
• Most affected suburbs
• Restoration time analysis
• Peak outage periods

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Technologies Used

Backend

• Python
• Flask
• SQLite
• REST API development

Frontend

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• MapLibre GL JS
• OpenFreeMap

Automation

• Playwright
• APScheduler

Deployment

• Docker
• Environment-based configuration
• Git/GitHub version control

External Services

• OpenWeather API
• LocationIQ Geocoding API
• Email notification services
• SMS notification services

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Installation

1. Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/Thafundraiser007/Power-Outage-Tracker.git

Navigate into the project:

cd Power-Outage-Tracker

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2. Create Virtual Environment

Windows:

python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

Linux/macOS:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

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3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Install Playwright browser:

playwright install chromium

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4. Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example configuration:

cp .env.example .env

Add your required API keys and configuration values.

Never upload .env files containing real credentials.

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5. Run Application

python app.py

Open:

http://127.0.0.1:5000

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Project Structure

Power-Outage-Tracker/

├── app.py              Flask application and API routes
├── auth.py             User authentication
├── config.py           Application configuration
├── database.py         SQLite database management
├── scraper.py          Automated outage data collection
├── scheduler.py        Background update scheduler
├── notifications.py    Email and SMS notification system
├── weather.py          Weather API integration
│
├── templates/          HTML templates
├── static/             CSS, JavaScript and frontend assets
│
├── Dockerfile          Container deployment configuration
├── requirements.txt    Python dependencies
├── .env.example        Environment variable template
├── README.md           Documentation
└── .gitignore          Git exclusions

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Deployment

Docker Deployment

Build container:

docker build -t outage-tracker .

Run:

docker run -p 5000:5000 --env-file .env outage-tracker

The included Dockerfile provides a consistent deployment environment with required dependencies.

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Screenshots

Add screenshots here:

Example:

screenshots/
├── dashboard.png
├── map.png
└── admin.png

Then display them:

![Dashboard](screenshots/dashboard.png)

![Map](screenshots/map.png)

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Skills Demonstrated

This project demonstrates practical experience with:

• Python application development
• Network monitoring concepts
• Infrastructure automation
• Database management
• API integration
• Data processing
• Web services
• Background task scheduling
• Docker containerization
• Git version control
• System notification workflows

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Future Improvements

Possible future enhancements:

• Real-time outage API integration
• Historical outage analytics graphs
• Mobile application support
• Automated testing framework
• Public API documentation
• PostgreSQL migration for larger deployments
• Cloud deployment with monitoring and logging

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Author

Jamill Naipao

Power Outage Tracker Built as a portfolio project demonstrating software development, automation, and infrastructure monitoring concepts.