Volunteers, some of them engineers and programmers at China’s biggest technology firms, have built an array of databases and networks to help provide disaster relief and information on medical care, pet shelters, how to cook with limited ingredients and other essential information. That is helping keep the city of 25 million afloat as some hospitals and public transportation are inaccessible and people remain locked in their homes.

These efforts include artificial intelligence-assisted platforms that match patients with doctors according to their medical needs, as well as crowdsourced tipsheets on procuring medicine and emergency supplies.

Others have set up chat groups to help pet owners find temporary homes for their animals when they are sent off to quarantine. A host of crowdsourced databases have also sprung up, listing outpatient clinics, hospitals and mental health support hotlines that remain open during the citywide shutdown. Others have created recipes for dishes that can be prepared with the scarce ingredients available in Shanghai, which have been widely shared.