Floods

Flooding: A Household Guide

If water is entering your home now, move yourself, your family and your pets away from danger. Call 999 immediately if you or someone else is in danger. If you can see water building up in the street, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.¹

Before flooding, check your risk, register for free warnings, make a household flood plan and keep a flood kit within easy reach. When a warning is issued, turn off gas, electricity and water only if safe, move valuables and vehicles to safety and put your flood protection in place. Afterwards, return only when the emergency services say it is safe, photograph the damage and contact your insurer as soon as possible.³

If water is coming in now

Act in this order, without going back into danger to protect belongings:

1. Move people and pets away from danger. Official flash flooding advice is to move yourself, your family and your pets away if water starts entering your home.¹
2. Call 999 if anyone is in danger. London Fire Brigade says to call immediately if you feel that you or someone else is in danger. Belfast City Council gives the same advice where life is at risk from floodwater.²
3. Report water building up in the street to Floodline on 0345 988 1188.²
4. Turn off utilities only if safe. West Yorkshire Prepared says to turn off gas, electricity and water only if it is safe to do so. Ready Scotland also says not to use electrical appliances during a flood.⁷
5. Stay out of floodwater. Official GOV.UK advice says to avoid walking, cycling or driving through it. Read what to do during a flood at home and whether it is safe to walk or drive through floodwater.⁹

Flooding problems are worse at night when you cannot see, so do not assume that a route is safe because the water looks still or shallow. Avoid contact with floodwater because it may be contaminated.⁶

If the emergency services tell you to evacuate, leave and follow their directions, including directions to any rest centre. The general steps in Getting Started: Preparing Your Household for an Emergency help you prepare for leaving home. Flooding can also interrupt electricity: report a power cut on 105 and follow the household guidance on power cuts.

Check your flood risk

Start with the official flood risk check for your area, then check that your household insurance is adequate and up to date. London Fire Brigade directs households to the GOV.UK flood risk check, while Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service advises checking cover before a flood. Use Checking Your Home's Flood Risk by Postcode to work through the checks.⁴

Flooding is usually a consequence of prolonged rain or heavy downpours. Neglected culverts, saturated ground and blocked drainage systems can make it worse. Official guidance identifies river, groundwater and surface water flooding among the types that affect households.¹¹

SEPA provides maps showing areas likely to flood in Scotland and describes the householder as the first line of defence, although public bodies also have responsibilities. Where flooding involves a public sewer, the detailed guide to guaranteed standards payments for sewer flooding explains that specific subject.¹³

Free flood warnings and what they mean

Register before heavy rain is forecast. The Environment Agency service is free for individuals and small businesses, covering up to 10 locations, and sends warnings directly by phone, text or email. Floodline Warnings Direct similarly sends a direct message when flooding is expected and may affect your property. Follow How to Sign Up for Free Flood Warnings, including getting warnings without email or for several addresses.¹⁴

The Environment Agency produces a five-day flood forecast on GOV.UK. Read Flood Alerts, Flood Warnings and Severe Flood Warnings, the Flood Guidance Statement and five-day forecasts and the Floodline numbers for England, Scotland and Wales. In Scotland, Floodline provides live flooding information and advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.¹⁴

Also pay attention to Met Office heavy rain and storm warnings, using the guidance on preparing for high winds and snow and ice where relevant. Emergency Alerts can be sent to phones for severe flooding; staying informed and in touch explains the wider household arrangements.

Your flood plan and kit

Write down what your household will do, where important items are and who needs help. Somerset Council's examples include turning off gas and electricity and moving important items to a safe place before flooding. Keep the plan and kit somewhere easy to reach so you can act quickly, and use Making a Household Flood Plan to complete yours.¹⁷

Your flood kit should include:¹⁹

• Torch and spare batteries, plus a portable wind-up or battery-powered radio and spare batteries
• First aid kit and any prescription medicines you might need
• Warm, waterproof shoes and clothes, rubber gloves and blankets
• Bottled water and snacks
• Essential supplies for children and pets, such as nappies and pet food
• Insurance documents, passports and a list of important phone numbers

Keep documents in waterproof containers and above water level where possible. For a grab bag, adapt this flood list alongside the broader emergency kit guidance.

Move pets, horses and livestock to higher ground before water arrives, with enough food and water; pets in an emergency covers the wider planning. A community resilience plan can coordinate community flood plans, flood wardens and help for neighbours. Check on older, disabled and vulnerable people, and support children afterwards, using extra help in an emergency.

Protecting your home from flooding

Official preparation advice names sandbags, floodboards and plastic covers for blocking doorways and airbricks. Devon County Council also lists flood barriers, airbrick covers and non-return valves. Keep drains, gullies and watercourses on your property clear if safe, and move vehicles to higher ground when flooding is forecast.¹⁷

Start with Protecting Your Home: Resistance and Resilience Measures, then choose measures that suit the openings and construction of your property:

• Doors and openings: door flood barriers, flood doors and windows, meter boxes and cable holes and the Nautilus 200 Flood Barrier
• Airbricks and backflow: airbrick covers, non-return valves and toilet bungs
• Water removal: sump pumps and submersible pumps
• Fuel storage: securing oil and LPG tanks

For sandbags, read sandbags and sandless alternatives, whether the council must provide them, how to fill and lay them and using pillowcases or bin bags. Comparisons cover sandbags or door barriers, door barriers or flood doors, sandbags or absorbent bags and submersible or flat suction pumps.

For longer-term resilience, the Met Office suggests tiles instead of carpets, electrical sockets higher up the wall and non-return valves. Check kitemarked products and PAS 1188, resilience surveys and professional installation, property flood resilience grants and the barrier storage and checking checklist.³

When a flood warning is issued

Use the checklist when a flood warning is issued and work through these actions while it is safe:¹⁹

1. Charge your mobile phone and other devices fully.
2. Put all flood protection products in place and check that they are working correctly.
3. Turn off electricity, water and gas if safe; see turning off utilities before a flood.
4. Move important documents, valuables, rugs and smaller furniture upstairs or onto tables or worktops.
5. Lift curtains over rails above expected floodwater levels and use door guards or airbrick covers.
6. Move vehicles, pets and animals away from flood areas, ensuring animals have food and water.
7. Bring your flood kit together and keep it accessible.
8. Check on your local community.

Contact neighbours by phone or message first and ask what help they need. Do not enter floodwater or put yourself at risk to help someone. If you need to travel, always adhere to "Do Not Travel" notices.⁵

After the water: going back in safely

Check with the emergency services that it is safe before returning, and make sure the property is safe before you enter. Follow After a Flood: Returning Home Safely and the first steps after your home floods checklist.³

When safe, assess and photograph the damage. Do not discard property until your insurer instructs you. Read cleaning up safely after floodwater, turning the electricity back on, using electrical appliances after water damage, toilets and septic tanks and pumping water out.¹⁹

Use floodwater and your health for health precautions. Consult emergency food about food touched by floodwater and water in an emergency about tap water and private supplies. If you smell gas after flooding, follow the emergency guidance in home emergencies rather than trying to investigate the fault yourself.

Insurance, claims and help with costs

Contact your insurer as soon as possible. Keep a record of the damage and every contact with the company, take photographs or video when safe, and try not to move damaged items because the insurer may need to inspect them. Speak to the insurer before cleaning, throwing items away, arranging repairs or engaging companies offering to repair flood damage.²⁰

Use home insurance in a flood risk area and Flood Re, making an insurance claim and the insurance claim records checklist. Flood Re is a joint government and insurance industry initiative intended to help households at risk of flooding obtain insurance.²⁶

The detailed pages explain Build Back Better, temporary accommodation, renting after a flood, disposing of damaged belongings and recovery grants and help if you are not insured.

Drying out and recovering

Before cleaning, wear rubber boots, waterproof gloves and an apron. Remove dirty water and silt. With wooden floors, water may sit below the floor and need pumping out. Air bricks may need unblocking, while loose material and dust should be vacuumed regularly as floorboards and walls dry.²²

If you return before cleaning is complete, Derbyshire County Council advises keeping some heating on at all times, considering a dehumidifier and ventilating well with windows open as much as possible. Keep air bricks to underfloor spaces unblocked for cross ventilation. Read drying out with dehumidifiers and how soon mould grows.²³

Other detailed cleaning guidance covers using bleach, cleaning a kitchen, when a garden is safe after sewage and disposing of used sandbags. When repairing, consider repairing a home so it recovers faster next time.

Recovery can take time. Start cleaning when you feel ready, do not overdo it, take regular breaks and accept help. Water levels may rise and fall for several weeks depending on drainage and further rainfall. Use mental health support after a flood for yourself and to support children and others affected.⁵

Who to contact in each nation

For street flooding, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188. Call 999 immediately if someone is in danger. West Yorkshire Prepared directs reports of flooding from water mains or public sewers in its area to Yorkshire Water on 0345 122 24 24. Use who to report flooding to and reporting a blocked road drain or gully for the different routes.²

Contact your local council if you need emergency accommodation or information about hardship grants and charities. Keep checking local flood warnings before offering help, so that supporting neighbours does not put anyone back into a continuing flood risk.⁵