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Be Flood Ready: How to Prepare for Flash Flooding
With the Met Office issuing yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms and heavy rain across parts of the UK this weekend, there’s an increased risk of surface water and flash flooding.
When we are deluged with heavy rain, particularly when we’ve had such dry weather, the ground is unable to quickly absorb the rain and this increases the risk of flooding. It can therefore happen suddenly or when you least expect it. Now is a good time to check your flood preparedness and take a few simple steps.
Make a Flood Plan
A Household Flood Plan helps you stay calm and act quickly in an emergency. There is a helpful template on our home page that you can access here: https://rainnorthants.co.uk/be-flood-ready/
Alternatively, you can download Flood Mary’s free ‘Flood To Do’ list here:
https://floodmary.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Household-flood-to-do-list-2025.pdf
Be sure to store it somewhere safe, within easy reach, and make sure everyone in your home knows where to find it – that way you can easily grab it and know what steps to take should you be concerned about flooding.
Be Flood Ready – Quick Tips
- Sign up for free flood alerts from the Environment Agency – please note, these don’t include surface water risk: https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings
- Move vehicles to higher ground ahead of the storm
- Keep a flood kit ready with:
- Torch and spare batteries
- Mobile phone and charger
- Warm clothes and waterproofs
- First aid kit
- Bottled water and snacks
- Insurance documents
- Any prescription medicines or baby care items
- Know how to switch off gas/electricity at the mains
- Move valuable documents, keepsakes and electronics upstairs or to higher shelves, or place on trestle tables
- Use buckets or crates to raise furniture
- Plug sinks and weigh them down to help prevent backflow
- Never walk or drive through flood water: 30cm of fast-flowing water can move a car, and 15cm can knock you off your feet
- Take photos of your rooms now, in case these are needed from an insurance point of view at any time in the future.
Watch & Learn
Flood resilience champion Flood Mary has created a short, practical video with some excellent flood resilience tips. You can watch it here:
Stay Informed
- Follow your local news channels and weather bulletins for the latest information
- Get updates directly from the Met Office:
https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings/uk-warnings.html - Check local river or surface water levels, and talk to neighbours about any concerns
- Visit www.floodmary.com for useful tips and free downloadable resources
- Take a look at the BeFloodReady website for further information.
Take a few moments to get ready and if you can, check in on any vulnerable neighbours or family members too. Preparing now could save you valuable time.
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The RAIN Project is funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes, which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.
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