Flooding
What is the risk of flooding to Warwickshire?
Flooding occurs somewhere in the UK every year. In Warwickshire, significant flooding events have been recorded in 1998, 2007 and, to a lesser extent, in 2016. Thousands of homes and businesses across the county remain at risk.
Flooding can result from prolonged or intense rainfall. Rivers may gradually rise and overtop their banks - a process influenced not only by local rainfall but also by rain falling upstream, which causes delayed surges known as peaks.
There are two main types of flooding affecting Warwickshire:
River and Stream flooding (Fluvial)
This occurs when rivers or streams overflow or breach their banks, allowing water to spill into surrounding areas. It is typically the result of sustained rainfall over time, often combined with upstream water flow.
Surface Water flooding (Pluvial)
This happens when heavy rainfall overwhelms drainage systems, and the water cannot drain away quickly enough. It is especially common in urban areas or on hard surfaces such as roads and compacted fields. Surface water flooding is often worsened by additional runoff from nearby land. Once rainfall eases, drainage systems generally clear the excess water over time.
How could flooding
affect you and your property?
Flooding can occur when heavy rain occurs or when rain occurs over several days. The rivers rise and can over top their banks – this may not occur instantaneously as the rivers are also affected by rain further upstream, coming down (called peaks).
Flooding also occurs when heavy rain falls on surfaces like roads and fields more quickly than the time it takes for it to drain away – this is called surface water flooding.
Surface water causes floods, when it rains so much that the water cannot drain away quickly enough. Surface water flooding is made worse when runoff from fields and roads adds to rainwater from other sources. Once the rainfall stops, the drains generally manage to remove the excess water over a period of time.
Flooding could cause:
- Risk to life
- Disruption to utilities (electricity and water supply)
- Damage to property, businesses, and agricultural land
- Widespread structural damage
- Risk to life to animals and livestock
- Flooding of properties for extended periods of time
- Pollution and contamination of local environments
- Evacuation of residents
- Long term damage to tourism
- Short, medium and long-term businesses and agriculture
- Loss of accommodation for those whose homes or businesses are flooded
- Damage to national critical infrastructure
- Unrecoverable damage to businesses
We can all be better prepared to
respond and recover from flooding
Follow these practical steps so you and your family can be better prepared for flooding.
Sign up for flood warnings
If you are at risk, you can sign up to the free Floodline service to receive flood warnings by telephone, text or email. Check if you are at risk of flooding and register with Floodline online or call 0345 9881188.
Protect your property
Water can enter a house through air bricks and drains as well as through doors and windows. Products such as door seals and valves for drains can help. Prepare your flood defences and follow any official advice given in flood warnings. Sandbags can help, but there are other products available on the market which we recommend the public look at.
Plan ahead
Plan where you would go if you had to leave your home or place of work quickly. How would you get there if the roads or railways are flooded?
Prepare a grab bag
What would you need if you had to leave in a hurry? What would your family or your pets need?
Look after vulnerable neighbours
Identify any vulnerable neighbours–see if anyone needs assistance.
Have supplies in your home
Such as tinned food, long-life products and non-cook food, to help you to cope for up to three days if you are unable to evacuate.
How to prepare
your business
Evacuating
during a flood
- If you are advised to leave the area for your own safety, decide where you will go and how you will get there
- Ensure you have enough fuel in your vehicle for your journey
- If travelling by public transport, check what availability they may have as they may be running a reduced or changed service as a result of flooding
- Collect your emergency grab bag
- Remember to take all essential medication with you and any important documentation
- Where possible take your pets with you
- Let your neighbour(s) know what you are doing – where you are staying/going.
Staying put
during a flood
- Have supplies in your home that will enable you to cope for up to three days if you are unable to evacuate
- Take your valuable items upstairs, if possible, or place them up high in cupboards/shelves to protect them
- Avoid walking through flood water as much as possible – there can be hidden dangers such as debris/sharp objects/open manhole covers.
Driving
Do not attempt to drive through floodwater. Just a few inches of water can be enough to float your car and seriously damage your engine. Most flood-related deaths occur when people become trapped in their vehicles.
Driving through floodwater can also create large bow waves, which may damage nearby properties. Always avoid driving through flooded roads - it's dangerous and can make the situation worse for yourself and others.
Report a flood
If you are in a dangerous or life-threatening situation, call the emergency services on 999.
Call Warwickshire County Council Highways department on: 01926 412515 if you see flooding on the:
- roads
- highways
- public drains
- gullies
Call Highways England on: 0300 123 5000 if you see flooding on major trunk roads and motorways.
Call the Environment Agency Floodline number on: 0345 988 1188 if you see flooding from:
- collapsed or badly damaged river banks;
- flooding from main rivers;
- main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree causing risk of flooding;
- unusual changes in river flow
Call Severn Trent Water on 0800 783 4444 if you see flooding from sewers and burst water mains.
Find your emergency contacts for river and surface water flooding
After a Flood
Continue to monitor the LRF website/ social media channels for guidance and advice.
If you were flooded
- Take photographs of any damage if it is safe to do so - to provide to your insurance company
- If you switched off your electricity:
- Get your electric meter checked by the electricity transmission company;
- Get your fuse box and electrical sockets checked by an electrician
- Drinking tap water should be fine but if it looks an unusual colour or has a strange odour or tastes strange, or if you have concerns look at the advice on the Severn Trent website or contact Severn Trent.
- If in doubt, boil water first or use bottled water.
- Before you use gas appliances get a Gas Safe Engineer to check to ensure they are safe.
- Be aware of the health effects caused by a flood. When cleaning up, wear personal protective equipment as flood water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria. Advice can be found at GOV.UK.
- Be mindful of how the stress and traumatic feelings of personal loss, can have an impact on your own and the mental wellbeing of others. What to do after a flood.
What is being done to become
better prepared?
- If large numbers of residents are affected, we will set up emergency assistance centres in safe places near to affected communities.
- Assist people to evacuate if they require it.
- Keep the public informed of the changing situation via local media stations, social media and the LRF website.
- Maintain two-way communication with central government
to ensure that any additional national resources can be
provided to support the local response. - Produce multi-agency plans so that every responding
organisation knows what they can do, at the right time, to support people who may be affected by flooding. - Test the multi-agency plans through a variety of multi-agency training and exercises.
Who is responsible for managing
flooding in the county?
A helpful advice booklet from Warwickshire County Council Flood Risk Management team can be found at warwickshire.gov.uk.
The following website on Flood Risk Management contains reporting and other useful information:
For more information on the steps you can take to prepare for flooding, visit:
National Government advice on what to do after a flood -
Some of our partners
