Floods

Flood alerts

 

Safeguarding your home

Long-term preparation

• Board your loft to create more space to move possessions above flood levels
• Fit portable flood barrier products (available from builders’ merchants)
• Check for cracks around the sealants on window and door frames
• Check for gaps on brickwork and cracks around the windows, doors and piping
• Clean gutters and ditches regularly and do not deposit oil or building materials down gullies
• Never fill a culvert to create an extra patch of garden

Gully/drain cleaning

Keeping gullies clear is critical to making sure water can drain away.

Gullies on a public highway will be cleaned by the council.

Contact the gullies team.

• Phone: 0161 770 4325 during working hours
• Phone: 0161 770 2222 for out of hours emergency

If you own your home or rent from a private landlord, the home owner is responsible for keeping these gullies clean, including drains on unadopted roads.

Building and extensions

• Consult building and planning regulations for advice on flood prevention measures before starting a building project
• Install electrical sockets as high as possible above flood water levels
• Put new boilers and/or other heating units on the first floor

A flood is on the way

Do as much as you can in daylight; it will be a lot harder after dark if the electricity fails.

People and pets

• Listen to your local radio and TV weather forecasts and for advice from the emergency services
• Alert your neighbours, particularly the elderly
• Store food and water upstairs
• Bring caged outdoor pets inside
• Move all pets with food, water, bedding and litter trays upstairs
• Flood advice - RSPCA website
  

Property and furniture

• Move your car to higher ground
• Roll up carpets and rugs and move them out of the way
• Empty furniture drawers and cupboards
• Take furniture upstairs, if possible
• Raise furniture on bricks and pull away from the wall
• Weigh down furniture which is too heavy to move
• Fasten plastic bags around the legs of wooden furniture to help minimise absorption of water
• Take down curtains or wrap them round the curtain pole
• Store valuable or sentimental items and important documents upstairs

Electrics and gas

• Move computers and other electrical equipment upstairs or above the flood level
• Turn off mains gas and electricity
• Disconnect electrical appliances

Drains and plumbing

• Put plugs in sinks and weigh them down with something heavy to prevent backflow from the drains
• Weigh down the toilet seat

Sandbags

Sandbags sometimes help to prevent water getting into your home.

You can buy sand at builders’ merchants and most DIY/garden centres.

Sand is abrasive so always wear rubber gloves when handling it

Make a sandbag:

• Half fill an old pillow case or refuse sack with sand or soil
• Tie or tuck in the neck of the bags
• Lift the sandbag by the neck and place it across the doorway. Make sure it sits snugly against the door and frame
• Pull the neck back across the top of the bag, then layer in a brick formation so that the joints are staggered
• Stamp on the bags to plug any gaps

Sandbags last longer if you store them out of the rain or direct sunshine.

Flood links

• How can I be prepared? - Environment Agency website
• Flood warnings - Environment Agency website