What to do in a flood, practical steps for car and home

When flooding occurs we might encounter travel disruption, huge puddles or overwhelmed drains. It can be more serious when major rivers burst their banks, buildings are inundated lives are threatened. As our climate warms the number of days of intense and prolonged heavy rainfall in the UK is likely to increase. Damage along waterways is more likely, as more households and businesses are affected in flash flooding events. Surface water flooding can be widespread and affect anywhere. This is also the risk of groundwater, coastal or tidal flooding.

Individuals and communities have to prepare, and establish their own resilience, creating plans of action should flooding occur. There will be uncertainties even panic but a bit of forethought could reassure and help practically in a flood event. 

Warnings

Understanding weather and flood warnings including signing up for free local alerts is important. As is knowing what is not covered by the national severe weather or flood warnings.

The Environment Agencies issue flood alerts when flooding is forecast from rivers, groundwater levels and high tides, surges or strong winds at sea. Flood warnings add ‘heavy rain that will cause rivers to flash flood’ to that list. Once flooding threatens life and communities the Environment Agencies issue severe flood warnings. Surface water flooding is different and. Here, you should use Met Office weather warnings and local council information for this. The Met Office rain and thunderstorm warnings use impacts and likelihood. So there can be regions outside of the yellow or amber warning areas that still see heavy downpours or torrential thundery showers. It’s worth becoming familiar with both sets of warnings, their time of issue and their structure before it applies to you. Also how important it is to include those locally who won’t see Facebook or TwitterX updates so that they are not forgotten and unaware. 

Think about your insurance cover, read the details and keep the contact information accessible.

Gather important documents along with other important items such as photo ID, IT devices and chargers. Put them in a waterproof container, that will remain easy to access if the flood waters reach your home, or the power goes off after dark. Include a list of phone numbers. You may have to leave your home for an unknown length of time. Make up a grab bag in case conditions worsen, with warm clothes and footwear, medicines, bottled water, key items for babies, toddlers and pets (including a carrier).

Think about where your car is parked, could it be moved to high ground temporarily? How could you stop water from entering your home, turn off your electricity, gas and water- do you know how? If flooding of a property is imminent, turn off power and water supplies and implement any flood defences. Lift soft furnishings (if possible) and curtains over rails, move what you can, stacking items or to another floor.

If you have to go into the water, wear wellies, rubber gloves and maybe take a stick or pole to find your way and keep your balance. When moving things in your home or business, you must wash your hands with clean (warm if possible) water and soap, then dry them. If there isn't any clean water use wet wipes or hand gel and don’t eat any food that may have been in contact with floodwaters, including later from gardens or allotments. 

Floodwaters

There are many reasons to stay out of floodwaters. The murky waters hide objects, sudden depth changes and fast currents. If you are driving into a flood you have no idea how deep it will get and flow water could sweep you away. “Don’t drown, turn around” is the advice slogan in the US. The waters could be contaminated, drain covers could have become loose or you could get tangled in branches or debris. 

Stay away from river banks and coasts in storms and times of fast-flowing water. Don’t take daft photos and keep youngsters safe too. Water and electricity do not mix so take extra care. 

During and after heavy rain, surface water flooding occurs and river levels rise. Flooding can continue due to runoff from hills and mountains into the river system.  If winter and spring rains continue there can be so much water and saturated ground that any more rainfall quickly causes flooding. In summer the ground can become dry and hard, so if thunderstorms deposit high rainfall totals there is the risk of flash flooding as the torrential rain looks for somewhere to flow to. 

Property Flood Resilience (PFR). Obviously, there is a cost associated with protecting your home structurally with flood gates, waterproofing, airbricks, pumps etc. which will relate strongly to your location risk. However relying on sandbags has downsides, they are heavy, slow to fill and everyone else will want the resources too. The other part of PFR is adaptation, aimed at reducing the amount of damage caused by flood water if it does enter the building. This should speed up the cleanup and make any recovery process more efficient.

Vulnerable towns and cities have their own large-scale flood defences or current plans. Local councils and Environment Agency staff can put up temporary flood barriers in times of need with pre-existing frames already in place, or mobile units brought in. You may decide to invest in PFR or wait on emergency sandbags or do nothing and hope for the best.

Vehicles and flooded roads

In heavy rain make sure that your headlights are on and remember that it takes longer to stop in the wet. Leave space between cars. Don’t use cruise control and if your steering feels strange, almost light then ease off the accelerator. Aquaplaning is when there is too much water on the road surface and tyres can’t grip properly. This causes a loss of steering so don’t instantly slam on the brakes. 

Think about where you are parking, will river levels rise, is the tide coming in, are there surprisingly few cars in the usually busy car park?
Don’t just follow everyone else. Stay out of moving water and water that is more than 10cm/4” deep. If you do drive through shallower water drive slow and steady. There is no need to re-enact those YouTube idiots. Your bow wave will impact others, so slow down and crawl along without stalling. Once out of the water, test your brakes as they could have become clogged with mud or debris

“A third (32%) of flood-related deaths are in vehicles.” AA

Ideally, it is better to avoid floodwaters as it can cause significant damage to your vehicle and it significantly increases the risk of drowning. And don’t splash pedestrians or cyclists, you can be fined or even get points on your licence if considered as driving without due care and attention.

Flooding is dangerous, accidents can happen in fast-flowing waters. Do not let children play in floodwater and be aware of hidden hazards in the dirty water. After a flooding event, health hazards remain but the stress and strain of what you have been through already, and the months ahead, should not be ignored. 

top image CG Unsplash