The UK has become one of the first countries in Europe to enable Google flood alerts meaning Environment Agency-issued warnings will now appear on Google Search and the Google Public Alerts map within seconds.

The service is a culmination of two years’ collaboration between The Environment Agency and Google, and follows similar roll-outs in the US, Germany, South America and parts of Asia, where the system issues alerts relating to residents to such environmental emergencies as earthquakes, wildfires and extreme temperatures.

John Curtin, executive director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency said: “This pioneering service will ensure that our live flood warnings and safety advice reaches even more people when it is most needed, giving UK residents access to the first service of this kind in Europe.

“We are always looking to find innovative ways to give people advance warning of potential flood risk so they can take action to keep themselves and their property safe. We will continue to work closely with Google to explore ways in which we can further develop this fundamental public warning service.”

The Environment Agency already sends flood warnings and alerts to over 1.4 million properties in England which have signed up to a text, email and automated phone call service. The new service will give even greater access and visibility to this key public warning service through tens of millions of personal devices.

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