Out of disaster has come innovation.
Last month's flooding in Wanganui was the inspiration behind some of the projects to come out of GovHack in Wanganui over the weekend.
A data competition held in cities throughout New Zealand and Australia, GovHack participants were tasked with creating smartphone apps and websites which present government data in a useful way.
One Wanganui group created the Community Response app, using data from Land Information New Zealand to match people in need of help following a natural disaster with those nearby who could provide it.
"It was one of those things which suggested itself really," Donald Gordon, who was part of the River Hacktivists team, said. "It's been really hard for them and hard for people to help."