You can help protect yourself, your family and your home from the devastating effects of flooding by taking steps to prepare and help reduce the risk of damage to your possessions.
What to do to prepare for a flood:
- See if you are able to sign up for free 24-hour flood warnings via phone, email or text by visiting www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings
- Know who to contact and where you will go during a flood
- Think about where you can move your personal items to now, like important documents such as passports – don’t wait for a flood, store treasured memories such as photo albums and family films to a safe place
- Think about what you would want to move to safety in a flood, for example, pets, cars, furniture
'What to do in a flood’ gives more information on how to ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’ in a flood.
Hampshire County Council’s Flood and Water Management team works hard with partners to reduce the risk of the devastating effects of flooding across Hampshire.
Over the past year, the Flood and Water Management team has undertaken 526 flood enquiries and worked in partnership with the Environment Agency and Regional Flood Coastal Committees to assist in allocating funding for flood defence and mitigation schemes.
Towards the end of 2018, the Environment Agency launched a #JustOneThing campaign to highlight the importance of knowing what to do in the event of a flood. Residents were asked what one thing they would save and why, to encourage them to prepare for a flood.
See what one #JustOneThing staff in our environment team would save in our video: #JustOneThing
Caroline Douglass, from the Environment Agency, said:“Flooding can cause serious disruption to people’s lives. We can’t prevent it, but we can help people be more flood resilient. Those who are aware of the risk and have done something about it are able to reduce damage to their homes and possessions considerably.”
Many people who have been flooded risk having to throw away all their furniture, clothes and even photographs because they’ve been contaminated by toxic flood water. The average cost of flood damage to a home is £30,000. If you are flooded, temporary accommodation costs on average £10,000, and you are likely to be out of your home for an average of 5 months.
The mental health impacts of flooding can last for two years or more after flooding has happened. Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder can affect up to a third of people who have been flooded. Taking steps to prepare for flooding and knowing what to do in a flood can significantly reduce the likelihood of suffering from mental health impacts in the future.
What one thing would you save?