SMS gets Oxfordshire residents out of deep water

Oxfordshire County Council is rolling out a mobile text alert system to warn residents across the county if their homes are at risk from flood water following heavy rain.

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The system - set to go live this month - is part of the county's emergency planning initiative and uses technology from software company Avanquest.

The free text alert system will give people potentially at risk time to prepare their homes and leave the area if necessary.

During summer 2007, the Cherwell and Isis/Thames rivers in Oxfordshire burst their banks and, more recently, localised flooding took place in January .

John Kelly, the council's emergency planning officer, said it is vital to warn the public and alert staff of flooding via SMS technology.

The council hopes more people will sign up to the new free service as opposed to the paid-for system available previously.

Oxfordshire County Council has been using text alerts since 2003 to warn of severe weather, road traffic accidents and terrorist alerts at a charge of £1.50 per year.

The Environment Agency has encouraged local government to be better prepared regarding flood warnings.