Flood Action week urges public to prepare

The Environment Agency has launched Flood Action Week to make sure that everyone knows their flood risk.

Flood Action Week takes place from 14-20 October and is launched on year on from Storm Babet. According to the Met Office, Storm Babet saw the third wettest three-day period in a series for England and Wales since 1891.

During the Storm, around 2,150 properties were flooded, though 96,900 properties were protected by the Environment Agency.

We have already seen flooding this autumn and just last month, almost a thousand properties flooded. The incident followed the wettest 18 months on record in England up to February 2024.  

The campaign is designed to show people that they can easily take a few steps to reduce the devastation caused by floods to their homes and businesses. Around 5.5 million properties in England at risk from flooding and recent data suggests that nearly half the country is unsure of how to find information on local flood risks.

The public is urged to prepare and learn what to do in advance. People are urged to check their long-term flood risk, sign up for flood warnings and take steps to protect their homes from flooding. This includes storing important documents in a secure, waterproof location, taking rugs and small furniture upstairs, checking how to turn off your electricity and water, preparing a flood kit.

Caroline Douglass, Environment Agency Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management, said: "Climate change means extreme weather events are happening more frequently, and we have already seen an unusually wet September this year.  

"We can’t always predict where the rain will fall or where flooding will occur, but we do know which areas are at risk.  

"That is why it is essential we all do our part by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings this Flood Action Week.  While we at the Environment Agency are stepping up our preparations to increase the nation’s resilience to flooding as we head into the winter, taking small steps today can immediately improve your own readiness."

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "Flooding can be a destructive force that puts everything in life on hold. I’ve seen the impacts firsthand and am determined to ensure as much as possible others do not.

"Through the recent launch of our Floods Resilience Taskforce, this government is taking decisive action to accelerate the development of flood defences and bolster the nation’s resilience to extreme weather.

"But this Flood Action Week, we must be all be proactive in taking steps to protect ourselves by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings."

Following flooding in 2020, caused by storms Ciara and Dennis, it is estimated that the average insurance claim per household was £32,000.

Since Storm Babet last year, the Environment Agency has undertaken a thorough assessment of the condition of flood defence assets across the country to ensure they are up to the required standard.

It has conducted over 200,000 checks on the state of assets in the past year – up from 150,000 in an average year – and increased spend on asset maintenance and repair to £236 million, up from £200 million.  

Responding to the launch of Flood Action Week, Cllr Adam Hug, Environment spokesperson for the LGA, said: “Council staff are on the front line working to prepare for severe storms to ensure the safety of residents, homes and businesses, shore up flood defences, and protect road networks and power supplies as much as possible.

“Extreme weather preparation is a key priority for councils, who develop comprehensive plans to cope with any bad weather, to protect residents and businesses, and to recover as quickly as possible.

“Councils share severe weather warnings and other relevant information so people should make sure they regularly check their council’s website and social media and follow their advice.”