<s>
FloodAlerts	B-Application
is	O
a	O
software	O
application	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
software	O
specialists	O
Shoothill	O
,	O
which	O
takes	O
real-time	O
flooding	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
displays	O
the	O
data	O
on	O
an	O
interactive	O
Bing	B-Application
map	I-Application
,	O
updating	O
and	O
warning	O
its	O
users	O
when	O
they	O
,	O
their	O
premises	O
or	O
the	O
routes	O
they	O
need	O
to	O
travel	O
could	O
be	O
at	O
risk	O
of	O
flooding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FloodAlerts	B-Application
was	O
launched	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
originally	O
as	O
the	O
world	O
’s	O
first	O
Facebook	B-Application
flood	O
warning	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FloodAlerts	B-Application
is	O
made	O
available	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
to	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
set	O
up	O
their	O
own	O
monitored	O
locations	O
and	O
receive	O
alerts	O
via	O
the	O
application	O
or	O
their	O
Facebook	B-Application
wall	O
if	O
the	O
locations	O
they	O
are	O
monitoring	O
are	O
at	O
imminent	O
risk	O
of	O
flooding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hosted	O
in	O
the	O
Cloud	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
Azure	I-Application
platform	O
,	O
the	O
FloodAlerts	B-Application
application	O
processes	O
the	O
data	O
received	O
from	O
the	O
Environment	O
Agency	O
,	O
automatically	O
creates	O
the	O
required	O
map	O
tiles	O
,	O
pins	O
and	O
alerts	O
and	O
displays	O
them	O
on	O
an	O
interactive	O
Bing	B-Application
map	I-Application
,	O
updating	O
the	O
content	O
every	O
15	O
minutes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FloodAlerts	B-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
provided	O
as	O
a	O
customised	O
risk	O
management	O
solution	O
to	O
businesses	O
that	O
require	O
infrastructure	O
or	O
asset	O
safety	O
monitoring	O
in	O
areas	O
where	O
water	O
levels	O
are	O
rising	O
or	O
receding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FloodAlerts	B-Application
has	O
received	O
The	O
Guardian	O
and	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
Business	O
’s	O
2012	O
Innovation	O
Nation	O
Awards	O
and	O
was	O
shortlisted	O
as	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
a	O
further	O
two	O
national	O
awards	O
:	O
the	O
UK	O
IT	O
Industry	O
Awards	O
for	O
Innovation	O
and	O
Entrepreneurship	O
and	O
The	O
Institution	O
of	O
Engineering	O
and	O
Technology	O
Innovation	O
Awards	O
for	O
Information	O
Technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FloodAlerts	B-Application
application	O
was	O
reviewed	O
on	O
the	O
BBC	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
