What is the risk of flooding to Warwickshire?

Flooding affects somewhere in the UK every year. In Warwickshire, significant flooding occurred in 1998, 2007 and, to a lesser extent, in 2016.

Thousands of homes and businesses in Warwickshire could be affected by flooding.

Rivers and streams
River sometimes referred to as ‘Fluvial’ flooding is when waterways (rivers and streams) overflow or breaches in their banks causes water to flow into the surrounding areas.

Surface water
Known as ‘pluvial flooding’ (where rainfall overwhelms the drainage systems). Surface water flooding is when the amount of rainfall exceeds the ability of the drainage system to take the excess water away. When the rainfall reduces or stops, the drains generally manage to remove the excess water over a period of 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 of 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.

1

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 and register with Floodline online or call 0345 9881188.

2

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 advice given in flood warnings. Sandbags can help, but there are other products available on the market which we recommend the public look at. 

3

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?

4

Prepare a grab bag

What would you need if you had to leave in a hurry? What would your family or your pets need?

5

Look after vulnerable neighbours

Identify any vulnerable neighbours–see if anyone needs assistance.

6

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

Warwickshire LRF

What is being done to become
better prepared?

  • If large numbers of residents are affected, we will set up evacuation 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 exercises.

A helpful advice booklet from Warwickshire County Council Flood Risk Management team can be found at warwickshire.gov.uk.

Flooding within Warwickshire An Introduction to Flooding and Keeping Safe in a Flood Event

The following website on Flood Risk Management contains reporting and other useful information:

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/flooding

For more information on the steps you can take to prepare for flooding, visit:

www.gov.uk/prepare-for-flooding

National Government advice on what to do after a flood -

www.gov.uk/after-flood

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