Securing Oil and LPG Tanks Before a Flood

If you heat your home with oil or LPG, your tank or bottles are the part of the property most exposed to floodwater. A tank can float, tilt or be pushed off its base; bottles can be submerged or swept away. The first thing to do is make a plan before water arrives, because official advice is clear that you should not wait until a flood happens to make these plans, as there may not be enough time to prepare fully¹.

If a tank or set of bottles does go under water, call your supplier. Official guidance is to contact your utility suppliers after a flood, because they may need to check gas, electricity and water supplies for safety². For an oil tank, get help from your insurer and your oil supply company³. If a leak could reach a stream, pond or other water supply, call the Environment Agency⁴.

After the water has gone, do not switch anything back on until it has been checked. Have your gas or oil central heating checked by a qualified person before switching on the gas or trying to light any appliance⁵. The sections below set out what to plan, what to check, and who to call.

Make a flood plan for your oil or LPG tank before water arrives

Being prepared and having an emergency plan in place is the core advice for anyone with an oil storage tank⁶. The Met Office's heavy rain guidance is to check if your property is at risk of flooding, and if it is, to prepare a flood plan and an emergency flood kit⁷. To plan for a flood, check your risk from rivers or the sea and from surface water⁸; our guide to checking your home's flood risk by postcode explains how.

A household flood plan should include a checklist to help you decide what you need to do before a flood, such as listing which belongings, electrical items or furniture you would want to move to safety, and what you would want to take with you if you had to evacuate⁹. For a tank, that means deciding in advance where the supplier's number is kept, who will check the tank, and what you will do if the tank itself is surrounded by water. Our guide to making a household flood plan covers the wider household side.

As a flood approaches, the practical steps are the same as for any home. Turn off gas and electricity or move important items to a safe place before a flood happens¹⁰. Two days before, monitor flood warnings and weather forecasts, start your grab bag, charge phones, power banks and torches, move important items upstairs, and check on neighbours or vulnerable people¹¹. Check that your household insurance cover is adequate and up to date, and make sure it covers oil leaks or spills⁴.

What to check on the tank itself, and the signs of damage

Regular checks are the best protection. Check the condition of your tank and boiler regularly, watch out for black stains, know how much oil you use, get your heating system serviced regularly, do not overfill your oil tank, keep the fill points clear, and review your home insurance policy to make sure you are covered for oil leaks or spills⁴.

The clearest early sign of a problem is the oil level. If you notice the level in the tank drops more than you would expect it to, based on your usage, this could indicate a leak¹⁴. Knowing your normal usage is what makes that comparison possible, which is why the advice to know how much oil you use sits alongside the physical checks⁴.

The lid and screen check comes from guidance on cold water storage tanks, and the same habit applies to any tank on your property: a periodic visual check that the lid and screens are securely in place¹⁵. If you find damage or a leak, stop the oil spreading if you can, and follow the advice on your tank sticker and on the Oil Care website³.

If your LPG tank or bottles go under water, call your supplier

Submerged gas equipment is a job for the supplier, not the householder. Official advice after a flood is to contact your utility suppliers, because they may need to check your gas, electricity and water supply for safety². In Northern Ireland the same instruction applies: if your home is flooded, contact your utility suppliers¹⁶.

Do not reconnect or use bottles that have been under water or damaged. If you use a gas heater, the Health and Safety Executive says to ensure that the correct size and type of gas bottle is being used¹⁷. That is a maker-level safety rule for the appliance, and it matters most when bottles have been moved, replaced or mixed up during a flood. Replacement bottles should come from your supplier, and the correct size and type for the appliance should be confirmed before use¹⁷.

If you smell gas or suspect a leak, contact National Gas²⁰. Our guide to turning off gas, electricity and water before a flood covers the shut-off steps, and gas and heating failures covers what to do if the supply fails.

Damaged tanks or bottles: report them straight away

A damaged tank is both a safety problem and a pollution problem, and the response depends on what has happened.

• Oil leaking or spilled: stop the oil spreading if you can, and follow the advice on your tank sticker and on the Oil Care website³. Get help from your insurer and your oil supply company³.
• Leak that could reach a stream, pond or other water supply: call the Environment Agency⁴.
• Gas leak: contact National Gas²⁰.
• Sewer flooding or a backing-up toilet or sink during floods: call your local water company²¹.
• Road flooding, a burst water main or a blocked drain: the flooding incident line takes reports of flooding problems on roads, burst water mains and blocked drains²².

Contact your insurers as soon as possible, and do not throw damaged items away until your insurers have inspected them¹². Our guide to who to report flooding to sets out the wider list of agencies, and making an insurance claim after a flood covers the claim itself.

Who to contact about an oil tank

For an oil tank, the first call is your fuel supplier. Independent guidance lists your fuel supplier as the contact for oil leaks⁶, and official guidance says to get help from your insurer and your oil supply company³. If you have concerns about your oil tank or need to install a new one, contact your local UKIFDA heating oil distributor or an OFTEC-registered engineer²³.

Knowing who to contact if flooding happens is part of being prepared²⁴. Write the numbers down and keep them with your flood plan, so you are not searching for them in the middle of an emergency.

Technician inspection visits: what to expect

Have the oil tank inspected at the same time as the annual boiler service. The OFTEC-registered engineer inspects overall condition, checks for water or condensation, and provides a report of observations and actions²³. That report is useful for insurance and for planning any repair.

For gas, have gas appliances inspected by a Gas Safe Register engineer, as the flue or ventilation systems may be affected even if appliances appear to be working normally²⁵. If you use gas heating or gas appliances, get a Gas Safe-registered engineer to do an inspection after a flood²⁶. Make sure your gas and central heating has been checked by an engineer before turning it on²⁷.

Using gas and heating after a flood

The rule is simple and it is repeated by council after council: do not turn on gas or gas appliances until your system has been checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer¹⁸. After a flood, do not turn back on gas supplies until they have been checked by a qualified technician¹⁹. Make sure your gas and central heating has been checked by an engineer before turning it on²⁷.

Have your electricity and gas checked by your supplier or qualified technician before switching them on¹². Have your gas or oil central heating checked by a qualified person before switching on the gas or trying to light any appliance⁵. If you use gas heating or gas appliances, get a Gas Safe-registered engineer to do an inspection after a flood²⁶.

If your tap water changes colour, taste or smell, contact your water company²⁹. Our guide to after a flood: returning home safely covers the wider return, and is it safe to turn the electricity back on? covers the electrical side.

Where the arrangements differ across the UK

The core safety advice is the same across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: call your supplier, do not use flooded gas equipment, and have heating checked before it is switched on. What differs is who you contact and which body publishes the guidance.

In Northern Ireland, the flooding incident line takes reports of flooding problems on roads, burst water mains and blocked drains²². Our guide to Wales: Natural Resources Wales warnings and risk maps covers the Welsh warning system in more detail.