Flood Action Week – Are you at risk of flooding?

It is Flood Action Week and with many images flashing on our TV screens of severe flooding happening in various parts of the world, allow me to offer some personal reflections on a subject that can affect all of us in some way or another. Flooding directly affects about 5.5 million people in England, with 3.2 million vulnerable to surface water flooding. Whilst flooding cannot be completely stopped or prevented, if the risk does exist, then there are many different ways to reduce or mitigate that risk. The State plays its part, but it is also down to individuals helping themselves and others around them with well-intentioned actions.

I live up on a hillside and you would think that flooding is not an issue – well it is. If we get torrential rain, water can cascade off adjacent fields and, if not properly channeled around the house, it would cause a big problem. We hear of many instances of houses slightly below road level where water runs down driveways and into those houses and garages – simple adjustments of driveways or added drainage can help deflect water away from you, but be careful not to simply push the problem onto someone else.

When did you last clean out your roof gutters and downpipe drains? I do mine at least twice a year and especially after the leaves have come off the trees. Looking slightly outside the boundary of your house, can you see any blocked road gulleys? If yes, you can and should report them to your council. Many councils will sadly struggle to meet the immediate demands for gulley cleaning as they simply don’t have the resources or money these days, but they will log your call for future action when they are able to. If you see an embankment leaking or a river, culvert or bridge blockage, the Environment Agency are the ones to contact via their emergency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or, if you need help, call 0345 988 1188. And keep your distance from the problem you spot.

Have you checked online to see if you are flood risk? It is very easy to do via the gov.uk portal plugging in your postcode. If that leads you to believe that you are at risk from river or sea flooding, make sure that you are signed up to the flood warnings service – at the moment, warnings are not issued for surface water flooding, but the website will indicate if you are at potential risk – very low, low, medium or high. I am shown as being at low risk – and I know that if I don’t keep a proactive eye on things, surface water could cause me some trouble, albeit minor.

Resilience is a key word when it comes to flooding and there is a wide range of advice and information available from a variety of sources, including on gov.uk and via Flood Mary giving excellent advice about how to plan and prepare for flooding to minimise impacts.

Flooding has unseen effects too, especially on peoples’ health and welfare and the after-effects in recovery from a flood can linger on for years. If you do experience flooding, you are not alone, do seek help and support (for homes – National Flood Forum, for farmers – RABI). And, if you don’t flood, think of those who do and be of whatever help physically and morally you can to help them recover as quickly as possible. Talking of recovery, insurance companies are now much more open to discussing refurbishments which improve a property’s resilience to future risks (see Flood Re) and loss adjusters will be able to discuss that if misfortune hits you.

Final job of the season for me ahead of winter is vegetation clearance and bit of desilting on the small streams flowing down past the house – the silt makes an excellent addition to the veg patch too! The adjacent farmers have also kindly helped check drainage culverts and ditches so the surface water flows how it is supposed to.

Try not to let the concern of flood risk wear you down, but take proactive steps to work with nature and our changing climate to reduce and prepare for the risk as much as you can. Visit www.gov.uk/prepare-for-flooding for more information.

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