This flood warning application allows users to get real time updates on flood warnings near them, at locations important to them and for the rest of England and Wales
Over five million people in England and Wales live and work in properties that are at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Are you one of them?
Everyone in an ‘at risk’ area needs to be aware of flooding and the current weather situation, even when on the go.
You can do this by checking the flood forecasts and the river and sea levels on the Environment Agency website, by listening to local news and weather forecasts or now by simply opening the Flood Alert application on your smartphone.
Using the latest technology available, the Environment Agency provides Halcrow, as a licensed flood warning service provider, live flood warning data throughout England and Wales 24 hours a day. Additional feeds for rainfall, river levels and sea conditions will also be included within Flood Alert once made available by the Environment Agency.
Using the Environment Agency’s live flood warning feeds, Halcrow has developed Flood Alert a smartphone application which allows users to quickly, efficiently and conveniently monitor flooding in areas that are important or close to them.
A free version of Flood Alert can be downloaded from the Apple ‘App Store’ and Blackberry 'App World'. Android users will also be able to download it from the Android Market in the near future .
Flood Alert allows users to monitor:
- live status of flood alerts that are relevant to the users current location
- live status of flood alerts for up to two user defined locations such as your home, office, or elderly relative’s house
- live flood alert information displayed by Environment Agency region
A professional version of the application will also be made available later in 2012 which provides additional capabilities and functionality allowing the user to tailor this application to their specific needs. The professional version of Flood Alert will provide functionality allowing the user to monitor:
- live flood alert information displayed by local authority, city or town
- additional user defined locations
- notification of flood alerts
- river levels
Flood Alert Features
Flood warnings near to the user
Based on geo-location, users can see flood warnings for their current location and obtain more information about the risk they face.
This innovative application provides information and advice on what the user should do if at risk from flooding. It also links directly to the Environment Agency website through the phones web browser, allowing the user to access further information.
As the application is fully integrated with the users’ smartphone, they can also communicate the risk of flooding to a friend or family member by text, email or telephone call.
Flood warnings for specific locations
Users can register for a Flood EA Channel Partner Alert account where they can save important locations, such as homes or local businesses.
People using the free application can save up to two locations whilst the professional version increases this number to three, with additional locations available through subscription.
Once users have registered for an account, they will receive flood warnings up to two days in advance of when the flooding is expected to occur. Notifications will be provided for each of the users’ saved locations allowing them to prepare themselves well in advance.
National view of flood warnings
A national view of the Environment Agency flood warnings is also available within the application.
In each Environment Agency region the current flood warnings in force will be displayed allowing the user to monitor flooding events on a national scale.
Flood alert information displayed
A valuable feature of the application is specific information on the flood event which can help users understand their current risk and the expected future changes. It also provides information on when the alert was raised and last updated.