How to prepare for a flood at home

You can check the risk of flooding in your area by visiting:

Creating a ‘flood kit’ ensures that you will have essentials items to hand. Include items such as:

• a broom
• spade
• mop and bucket
• domestic detergent
• disinfectant
• rubber gloves
• wellingtons.

Flooding in the form of surface water run off (SWRO) can strike in areas where there has been no prior history of flooding. It’s therefore important to tune in to weather notifications so you can stay alert to warnings in your area.

• The Environment Agency offer free notification of weather warnings by phone, text or email via their Floodline. SEPA and National Resources Wales offer similar alert systems.
• The Met Office share weather alerts on Twitter, you can follow @metofficeUK for live weather updates across the UK.
• NOAA Weather Radar and Alerts is a popular app that notifies users of severe weather warnings.
• In the event of an imminent flood, move contents and furniture upstairs to safety. If you are unable to move some items upstairs, you may be able to lift them onto bricks to raise them above the water.

Make sure you know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water in case you need to evacuate your home. Please be aware, you should never touch sources of electricity while there is standing flood water in the home.

Remember, safety comes first, you should plan to evacuate before it is too late to move.

If you experience a flood and need advice about what to do, the government provide a list of available resources that may be useful.

Baptist Insurance’s home insurance customers will have flood cover for their buildings and contents as standard. You can contact us to understand more about your cover or review the Baptist Home Insurance Product Information Document (IPID).