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Guides/Weather

Flooding:
before, during, after

Flooding is the UK's most common emergency and the one that gives the most warning. Sign up once, and the Environment Agency will text you days ahead. Then the job is moving the right things up and the right people out, early, before the water decides for you.

9 min readChecked against Environment Agency and gov.uk guidanceUpdated November 2026Print this guide
Beforetoday

Know your risk and get the warning

  1. Check your address at gov.uk's flood risk service, and sign up for free flood warnings by text, email or phone. A flood alert means be prepared; a flood warning means act now; a severe flood warning means danger to life.
  2. Agree where the family goes if you have to leave: a relative on higher ground, not a rest centre you have never seen. Write it on the family plan card in the Unit.
  3. Find out now how to turn off the gas, electricity and water. Label the switches.
  4. Put copies of documents, photos and insurance details in the document pouch. Photograph every room while it's dry; the insurer will ask.
Duringthe warning

Move things up, people out, early

  1. When the warning comes, move valuables, medicines and the children's things upstairs or onto high shelves. Put the Unit and the Operators by the door you will leave by.
  2. Turn off the gas and electricity at the mains if water is coming in. Do not touch switches with wet hands or while standing in water.
  3. Leave early, in daylight, by the route you planned. If you are told to evacuate, go. If you wait for the water, you lose the car and the choice.
  4. Never walk or drive through flood water. Fifteen centimetres of fast-flowing water can knock an adult over; thirty centimetres will float a car. Manhole covers lift; you cannot see the hole.
  5. Keep the pets in their carriers from the moment the warning comes, and take them with you. Open the Scout bag and clip the lead on before you open the door.

Never

Never drive into flood water, even if the car in front made it. Most flood deaths in the UK happen in vehicles. Turn around.

Afterthe water drops

Treat everything it touched as contaminated

  1. Flood water carries sewage, fuel and chemicals. Wear the nitrile gloves and a mask from the green pouch when you go back in, and wash your hands with the sanitiser before you eat anything.
  2. Do not switch the electricity back on until an electrician has checked it. Do not use the gas boiler until it has been checked.
  3. Throw away any food that touched flood water, including sealed tins with damaged seams. Treat tap water as unsafe until the water company says otherwise: boil it, or use the tablets.
  4. Call the insurer before you throw anything away, photograph everything, and keep the receipts. Ask the council about the recovery scheme for your area.
  5. Ventilate and dry the house slowly; heaters on full in a wet house grow mould. Ask for help: the stress of a flood lasts longer than the water.

Sources, checked November 2026