Preparing for a flood

Find out if you're at risk and what action to take

Around five million people, in two million properties, live in flood risk areas in England and Wales – are you one of them?

With climate change causing more extreme weather and sea level rise, flooding is a growing concern for those in Kent. It is becoming increasingly important for people to find out if their homes and businesses are at risk and to be prepared.

Find out if you're at risk

To find out if you could be at risk

visit the Enviroment Agency website
call the Floodline on 0845 988 1188.

You may be able to register for Floodline Warnings Direct, a free service providing warnings direct by phone, mobile, email, SMS text message, fax or pager.

Think ahead

Even if you don’t live in a flood risk area, flash flooding can happen when there is very heavy rainfall and/or problems with water mains or sewers. Thinking ahead and planning for what could happen makes common sense. This is why the Environment Agency and other public bodies work closely together, through the Kent Resilience Forum, to make sure arrangements are in place to deal quickly and efficiently with a major flooding incident.

Action you can take

If you do live in a flood area, keep plywood, sandbags or metal sheeting in the house to cover doors, windows and airbricks.
Know where to turn off your gas, electricity and water supplies at the mains and keep useful numbers to hand for example Floodline, the council, emergency services and your insurance company.
Keep sentimental items, such as family photo albums and important personal documents, like passports, birth and wedding certificates upstairs away from floodwater.

Guidance to keep

All households should read the Environment Agency’s three new flooding guides (all documents are PDFs):

Remember, if you find yourself in an emergency, Go in, stay in, tune in for regular advice and updates on the situation on local radio and media websites.

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