Flood guidance

Flooding is becoming a more regular occurrence, with the annual UK cost estimated to be in the region of £700m¹.

You can check your risk of flooding by checking the websites of the agency responsible for the environment in your area, and also signing up to receive flood alerts. Undertaking a flood risk assessment can help shape your actions and return to normal activities quickly.

As with all risks, planning can make your response in an emergency easier, by making sure everyone knows what they should do to protect property and ensure the safety of people.

There are several ways to protect your buildings including the provision of flood barriers, sandbags, air-brick covers etc. Landscaping can also be used to good effect to divert water away from the buildings, but you must ensure that it is not diverted onto neighbouring properties.

Since the 1960s, average rainfall has increased 7.3%², making flooding a risk which is likely to become more frequent. Being prepared can help you to limit damage to your property.

Around 5.2million properties are in flood risk areas in the UK³. You can check to see if your local area is at risk of flooding by visiting the websites below.

If flood risk is likely, there are several ways you can check the situation in your local area:

• Sign up for Flood Warnings Direct from EA to receive warnings by phone, text or email. SEPA and National Resources Wales offer similar alert systems.
• Follow weather alerts on Twitter - @metofficeUK give live weather updates across the UK.
• Get the app – National Weather Service (NOAA) Weather Radar and Alerts is a popular app that gives severe weather warnings.

If you know that you are in a flood risk area, there are several ways you can prepare for flooding.

Work with your community
Visit the National Flood Forum website for useful information including a directory of flood-related products. They work with flood action groups to support communities and households who are at risk of flooding.

Store essential flood equipment
It’s good to keep essentials handy at all times. Keep buckets, sandbags, spades, wellies, bottled water, gloves and other protective clothing somewhere accessible. These will all be useful if flood waters do start to rise close to your property.

Have a contingency plan
A contingency plan should outline what you need to do in the event of a major incident such as a flood. Keep emergency telephone numbers and your insurance documents to hand so you can let essential people know straight away.

There are several ways you can protect your property against flooding:

• Flood barriers - boards that can be installed across doorways and windows ahead of the arrival of flood water. These usually slide into a frame pre-attached to the building structure to provide a watertight seal.
• Sandbags - used in conjunction with plastic sheeting to create a flood barrier.
• Air-brick covers - one of the first points of entry of floodwater into a property is via air-brick vents. A plastic cover can be clipped to the framework surrounding air-bricks to prevent the entry of water.
• Non-return valves to drainage systems to prevent backflow of foul water into the property.
• Drainage gullies - installed around your property designed to capture surface water and divert it directly to drains.
• Landscaping - can be used to divert surface water away from a building. Care should be taken to ensure water is not diverted onto neighbouring property where it could cause damage.

• Safety comes first, think about leaving before it is too late to move.
• If flood water is about to enter your property turn off the gas, electricity and water but never touch sources of electricity when there is standing flood water.
• Move valuable items to safety, if you can, move them to upper floors.
• Take as much furniture as you can to upper floors, if you can’t move them lift them onto blocks or bricks to minimise the damage.
• Think about moving cars to higher ground.

Remember, if you have a basement that will be the first area to flood. Flash flooding, especially from a build-up of surface water is a real threat to properties with basement rooms. The water can pour in off the pavement quickly, inundating the room.

¹Annual cost of UK flooding - BBC News

²Charting the UK's changing climate - The Met Office

³UK flood statistics & facts about flooding - Morgan Clark