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During a flood and recovering from a flood

During a flood

Take action

  • Call 999 if you are in immediate danger
  • Follow the advice of the emergency services
  • Use your emergency flood plan if you have one
  • Turn off gas, water and electricity
  • Move things upstairs or to safety
  • Move family, pets and motor vehicles to safety
  • If it is safe to do so, take photos and record information that will help a later insurance claim

Stay safe

If there is water entering your property due to rainfall or leaks from a flat above you, you will need to carry out immediate repairs.  If water mixes with electricity, this could be fatal.  To remain safe, follow Electrical Safety First’s advice.

Floodwater can be very dangerous because it can move very fast, there may be hidden dangers and it may also be contaminated.  To remain safe, follow Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service's guidance about Flooding on the roads and Staying safe in floodwater.

Recovering from a flood

Safety after a flood

If floodwater has come into your property, there could be damage to the electrics and the floodwater may be contaminated.  So, before you start the clean-up process, follow Electrical Safety First’s advice.

Reinstating your property

If you have been unlucky enough to have had floodwater come into your property, there will be various stages to go through in order to reinstate it.  They are likely to be:

We recommend guidance from the National Flood Forum and Electrical Safety First about what to do after you’ve been flooded.

You might wish to consider the Flood Re Build Back Better scheme, which is designed to reduce the cost and impact of future floods by including property resilience measures as part of flood repairs.

Further guidance about changes that you might be able to make to your property to reduce the risk of future flooding and also to reduce the damage caused by floodwater is available from:

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