Flooding

• listen to your local radio and TV weather forecasts for advice from the emergency services
• alert your neighbours, particularly the elderly
• move your car to higher ground
• roll up carpets and rugs and move them out of harm’s way
• empty furniture drawers and cupboards. Place the contents and any furniture you can move upstairs
• any furniture you cannot move could be raised on bricks and pulled away from the wall
• weigh down any furniture which is too heavy to move, to stop it from floating and damaging walls and windows
• fasten plastic bags around the legs of wooden furniture to help minimise absorption of water
• if possible, take the curtains down or wrap them round the curtain pole
• move computer and other electrical equipment upstairs or above the anticipated water level
• turn off gas and electricity at the mains
• put plugs in sinks and weigh them down with something heavy to prevent backflow from the drains. Weigh down the toilet seat too
• disconnect electrical appliances
• check food and water supplies and take upstairs
• bring caged outdoor pets inside. Move all pets with food, water, bedding and litter trays upstairs
• get into the habit of storing valuable or sentimental items and important documents upstairs or in a high place
• if you have any flood protection equipment, such as flood boards or airbrick covers, put them in place
• do as much as you can in daylight

Sandbag requests

It is not the responsibility of the Local Authority to provide sandbags for use by individual occupiers of residential or commercial premises. We cannot deliver sandbags on request.

We must protect key locations such as infrastructure or vulnerable communities first. Then we will aim to place sandbags at strategic points sensitive to flooding. For example, on street corners, for collection and placement by the property owner.

Supplies of sandbags will be dependent upon the scale of the flooding, the demands for service, the weather conditions and the prioritisation of response.

Sandbags are not the only protection against floodwater. There are many other products on the market which can offer protection from flooding. We are not able to endorse any specific product. It is up to the customer to decide whether a specific product is suitable for their needs. You can find advice on other ways of protecting your property from flooding on the National Flood Forum website.