A NEW flooding alert has been developed to help warn people of impending bad weather.

Flood Alert is a free Smartphone application developed by Halcrow of Swindon and is available to download now.

It is the first flooding application on the market and uses the Environment Agency’s live flood warning data. It enable people to receive alerts relating to their current location, as well as up to two extra locations of interest such as a workplace or an elderly relative’s town.

It can also display flood alerts split into EA regions.

Halcrow’s Richard Crowder said: “More than five million people in England and Wales live and work in properties that are at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.

“Everyone in an ‘at risk’ area needs to be aware of flooding and the current weather situation, even when on the go. “ A professional version will also be available later in 2011 allowing the user to tailor the application to their needs.

A free Flood Alert can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. Android users will be able to download it from the Android market later in 2011.