It was the wettest October since 2000, with rainfall totals above average across most of England. October has seen two storms, storm Babet and storm Ciaran bringing lots of wet weather. With another storm hitting this week the wet weather isn’t going anywhere fast.
According to the UK government around 5.2 million properties in England, or one in six properties, are at risk of flooding. More than 5 million people live and work in 2.4 million properties that are at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, 1 million of which are also at risk of surface water flooding. Scary statistics for those home or business owners.
Advice for homeowners during the wet months
- Ensure you have the right flood insurance for living in a flood plain
- It’s a good idea to construct flood barriers, (levees, beams, floodwalls) to stop floodwater from entering your home. Sandbags offer initial temporary protection
- Check the flood risk and understand the flow of water. Remembering flood waters are dangerous and health and safety is important
- You’ll need to turn off your mains water, gas and electricity if you have to leave your home during a flood
If you do live within a flood plain and are likely to flood, there are various adjustments around the house that can help:
- Laying hard floors instead of carpet, preferably tiles
- Moving electrical sockets higher up the wall
- Fitting non-return valves to stop flood water entering your property through the drains
- Getting flood protection products, for example flood doors or self-closing air bricks.
The Forshaw Group team can help
Our team is on standby, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, it doesn’t matter when you call us, we’ll be able to respond rapidly. Being able to get on scene so quickly really helps mitigate any damage as far as possible. While we get on with the restoration process, we can remove and then store anything you need to look after in our warehouse.
Damage to the fabric of a building, furnishings and IT may in fact be the least of your worries. Paperwork, even in today’s comparatively ‘paperless offices’ may still be key to keeping your business operational. The quicker we can reach it, the better chance we have of preserving it. Our experts are trained to analyse and react accordingly as soon as they reach a flood-hit property. We have a whole portfolio of restoration services and technologies at our disposal, from technical drying to restoration and reinstatement. Contact us to find out more.
