After heavy rainfall recently, some areas of the country have been on high alert for floods and flooding in Essex and Suffolk caused chaos as roads looked more like rivers and had to be closed off. River levels remain high in areas and people in high risk flood areas will have been nervously checking the weather forecasts and taking precautionary actions.
Did you know that you can sign up for free flood alerts with the Environment Agency? This will allow you to plan more thoroughly and minimise the risk of your home being damaged by flood water. Simply by entering your postcode, you can find out instantly whether you are at risk of flooding. It is worthwhile checking out as it is always better to be safe than sorry. Additionally, you can find helpful advice and even a flood plan template to get you set up and ready to protect your home.
In fairly devastating examples over the last few years in the UK, it is not just homes based in coastal areas that are at risk; heavy rainfall and reservoirs overflowing can also lead to flood damage.
There are numerous precautions that you can take to help to limit flood damage such as:
- Using sandbags to line the house
- Use flood boards to protect doors
- Move valuable items into higher positions, e.g. mount your TV on the wall
- Fit non-return valves to your drain pipes to stop the water backing up into your home
Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely prevent flooding. That is why it is important that you are also adequately insured against the loss and damage that floods could incur. Without the appropriate levels of insurance, you may have some very big repair bills to face.
If you are in a high risk flood area then you may struggle to obtain flood insurance cover or be quoted extortionate figures. If this is the case, it may save you a lot of time and effort by referring to a specialist panel of flood insurance experts. They will be able to assess your individual circumstances and find the deal that is best for you and your home.
As well as getting you a great deal, they will be able to give you further information and advice on how to minimise the impact of flooding on your home and could save you a lot of hassle.









