MyCoast
Snap the Shore, Track the Change.
Overview
MyCoast is a platform used by state and local agencies to crowdsource photos of coastal conditions. Citizens can submit photos of king tides, storm surge, and beach erosion through a web portal or mobile app. This information helps coastal managers, planners, and emergency responders to visualize and understand coastal hazards, validate flood models, and communicate risks to the public. It operates on a state-licensing model, where a state agency sponsors the portal for use within its borders.
✨ Key Features
- Photo submission for specific coastal events (King Tides, Storm Reports)
- Geotagging of photos with tide and weather data automatically appended
- Public map-based portal for viewing all submitted photos
- Specific data collection campaigns
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Specifically designed for coastal photo documentation
- Simple, user-friendly interface for the public
- Business model is based on partnerships with government agencies
Unique Value: Provides government agencies with a turnkey solution to crowdsource valuable visual data on coastal flooding and storm impacts, enhancing situational awareness and public engagement.
🎯 Use Cases (4)
✅ Best For
- King tide monitoring in multiple US states (e.g., Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington)
- Storm damage reporting for state emergency management agencies
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Non-coastal environmental monitoring
- Projects outside of participating states
- Data collection requiring custom, non-photographic data fields
🏆 Alternatives
While a generic tool like Survey123 could be configured for this purpose, MyCoast is a pre-built, focused solution that is simpler for the public to use and for agencies to deploy for this specific use case.
💻 Platforms
🛟 Support Options
- ✓ Email Support
- ✓ Dedicated Support (State License tier)
💰 Pricing
Free tier: Free for individual citizens to submit photos in participating states.
🔄 Similar Tools in Citizen Science
CitSci.org
A platform for creating, managing, and analyzing citizen science projects with a focus on scientific...
Zooniverse
A crowdsourcing platform where volunteers classify and analyze large datasets, primarily images, aud...
ArcGIS Survey123
A tool within the Esri ArcGIS ecosystem for creating and deploying smart forms for field data collec...
Anecdata.org
A free, versatile platform for creating citizen science projects to collect any type of observationa...
KoBoToolbox
A free and open-source toolkit for field data collection, widely used in humanitarian, environmental...
Envirosuite
An environmental intelligence platform for real-time monitoring, management, and reporting of enviro...