We have been hit by the worst flooding and weather the UK has seen in our lifetime. Getting the right information to people about the problems affecting particular areas, and the right places to turn to help (or for information on how THEY can help volunteer) is crucial. The government has near real-time data on flooding levels and alerts, mapped out across the entire country, which they want to put to the best possible use.

Following a meeting called today at Number 10 with leading technology companies, the Environment Agency, the Government Digital Service, the Open Data Institute and the Cabinet Office are working to open up this data to the public for the next three months, allowing developers to build innovative applications that can help those affected by the flooding.

This Sunday at 10am, join developers from GDS, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Conversocial, Datasift, Mother, Taskhub, Do It and more for a hackathon, hosted by Tech City UK at Google Campus in Shoreditch, where the Open Data Institute will share the flood level data with developers and be on hand to help throughout the day. The Cabinet Office will be choosing the most useful applications demoed on the day to be promoted to flood victims across the country.

Please register for the hackathon at http://floodhack.eventbrite.co.uk and contribute your own ideas on what can be done at https://hackpad.com/UK-Flood-Help-February-2014-QFpKPE5Wy6s.

Your country needs you!