Question: What are the specific flood risks in my area and what practical steps can I take to protect my home and family?

Alex Cartwright answered on 16 Jan 2026:

First off, go look up what types of flooding could impact your area on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk

This is one of the best examples globally of accessible natural hazard information for the public. This will help you understand the flood hazard, and how exposed you might be. Floods have differing characteristics: how quickly flooding could occur (onset time), how long flood water could stay for (duration), how much water could surround your area (depth) the speed water could be travelling at (velocity).

Once you know this, it helps understand what practical steps you can take. Making a plan with these steps in is key. Once you have the plan, you can practice it with your family.

One of the most basic steps is to get plastic sheeting (tarpaulin) from a garden centre, and put this up against your house held in place by sandbags, where water can come in (doors, low windows). This is a good last resort, in times of flooding, but it is not the best solution if you have time to plan. Another simple step is knowing where your valuables are (this could be things that cost lots of money, things that are special and sentimental to you), and have a plan to move them higher (upstairs, or on top of tables downstairs) in the event of a flood warning.

Property Flood Resilience is something you can google and find lots of information about how to reduce the impacts of flooding to your home.

Sorry – that turned out super long. The short version:
– know your flood risk
– make a plan (using information around your risk and property flood resilience)
– practice your plan.