'Devastating and long-lasting' - People across Sussex and Surrey urged to be prepared for floods
With polling showing that 45 per cent of the public have not looked up the flood risk for their home, the Environment Agency has launched an awareness campaign.
Despite there being no immediate risk, people across the South East – including Sussex and Surrey – are being urged to be prepared for floods.
The Environment Agency has launched Flood Action Week – from Monday, October until Friday, October 17 – to ‘ensure every person knows their flood risk’.
People are urged to sign up to receive flood warnings, have a flood plan and take steps to prepare.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Polling shows 45 per cent of the public have not looked up the flood risk for their home. Yet one in five properties are at risk from flooding and this rises to one in four in the future with climate change
“Flood Action Week is the Environment Agency’s annual campaign to encourage people to prepare for flooding by knowing their flood risk, preparing a flood plan, and signing up for flood warnings.
“As climate change brings more extreme weather, there has already been flooding this autumn. After several named storms last winter and Storm Amy earlier this month, communities are warned not to be complacent about the risk of flooding, despite this summer’s dry weather.”
The government agency warned that flooding can have ‘devastating and long-lasting impacts’, which is why protecting people and communities is the ‘top priority’.
The best way to protect yourself from flooding is ‘early preparation and knowing what to do in advance’. Some of the actions people can take to reduce the dangers are:
– Check your long-term flood risk. You can use this free service to find out the long-term flood risk for an area in England, the possible causes of flooding, and how to manage flood risk;
– Sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email;
– Taking steps to protect yourself from future flooding – including storing important documents in a secure, waterproof location, taking rugs and small furniture upstairs, checking how to turn off your electricity and water, preparing a flood kit.
The Environment Agency and its partners are continuing to help communities become more resilient to extreme weather and rising sea levels, but authorities can never stop all flood impacts.
Caroline Douglass, Environment Agency executive director of flood and coastal risk management, said: “We’re already seeing the impacts of climate change through wetter winters and drier summers. The Environment Agency is taking action - working to help communities become more resilient to extreme weather and rising sea levels.
“This Flood Action Week, the public and business owners should play their part by checking their flood risk, signing up for flood warnings and having a flood plan. This will help to keep them and their loved ones safe and reduce the devastation flooding can cause to homes, businesses and communities.”
New research, commissioned by Flood Re, shows that ‘simple property-level resilience measures’ could save the UK hundreds of millions of pounds every year.
Kelly Ostler-Coyle, director of corporate affairs at Flood Re said: “This Flood Action Week, we’re urging everyone to check their flood risk – and then take action to prepare for it.
“Beyond the financial cost, the emotional toll of flooding can be devastating and long-lasting. That’s why it’s so important to understand your personal flood risk and take steps to protect yourself, your home, and your family.”
The government said its recent increase in capital investment in flood defences ‘enables the replacement of ageing assets’ and the ‘strengthening of long-term flood resilience’. It said this ‘renewed commitment reflects the value placed on protecting communities and infrastructure’ from the ‘devastating effects flooding has’.