A world first as Shropshire company develops live Facebook flood alerts
The world's first Facebook-based flood warning system, created by a Shropshire business, has gone live as water levels have been rising across the country.
Live data from the Environment Agency is being continually processed by one of the country's most innovative software houses, to deliver real-time and personalised updates to users of the world's biggest social network who might be affected by recent flooding.
FloodAlerts has been launched on Facebook by Shrewsbury-based Shoothill, on behalf of the Environment Agency. It has already been brought to the attention of Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman and received praise from Defra Minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries, Richard Benyon.
Users of FloodAlerts can view the flood warnings and alerts issued in England and Wales at-a-glance and set up personalised alerts, which monitors at-risk areas around their homes, or even warn them if travel routes they need to use to get to work could be affected. Warnings related to their monitored areas are then posted to a user's Facebook wall to alert the user.
Updates from the Environment Agency's network of flood warning systems and staff around the country are gathered and plotted in an easy-to-view format using Microsoft's scalable cloud technology, enabling it to cope with any amount of demand for updates.
Shoothill, which has its headquarters on Battlefield Enterprise Park, has earned a global reputation for its ability to translate and present big data in a variety of innovative ways and works with leading blue chip companies, government agencies and some of the world's most high profile organisations.
Managing Director, Rod Plummer, explained: "FloodAlerts is the world’s first graphical representation of flood warning data on Facebook which provides localised updates every 15 minutes, keeping users informed about the potential flood risks in their area on a Microsoft Bing Map.
“We created FloodAlerts on Facebook for the simple reason that social media is now becoming the first choice of many people to get the latest news affecting their lives. With more than 50 per cent of the UK population now having a Facebook account, and the other 50 per cent probably knowing someone who has one, it seemed logical to us that the delivery of flood warnings through the site is a simple but effective way to help get the warnings to people who need them fast, accurately and through a medium they are already using.”
Craig Woolhouse, Environment Agency Head of Flood Incident Management, said: “Being prepared is vital to help reduce the risk of flooding. With over five million people living or working in areas at risk from flooding across England and Wales, we are urging communities to use the new application, alongside our existing Floodline and website updates, to keep one step ahead of future floods.”
FloodAlerts has the ability to be quickly adapted for use across the world, where flooding can carry even greater risk to life and property than it generally does in the UK.
