Property protection and flooding prevention

Plan ahead

Things you can do to be prepared and try and prevent your property from flooding.

• Check if your property is at the risk of flooding in the next 5 days
• Check the long-term flood risk of your property
• Sign up to flood warnings in your area
• Create a personal emergency flood plan for your household
• Report drainage problems before it becomes an emergency
• Make sure you unblock any clogged drains at home or at your place of work
• Check if you are riparian owner. A riparian owner is responsible for any watercourse that flows next to your land. A watercourse can be a ditch, stream or river. You may not realise you have responsibilities for the watercourse, because you do not own the land the watercourse is on. You should check watercourses are free from rubbish, garden waste and anything else that prevents the free flow of water. It is very important to check all watercourses, even if they are currently dry
• How to protect your property includes guidance on drainage and flood protection measures
• Investigate flood protection equipment
• Sandbags are available from most local builders merchants and DIY stores. Most Norfolk councils no longer supply sandbags as they are not fully effective and are not the best form of flood protection. Some councils do have sandbags available though in an emergency:
  • Breckland Council has a small supply of sandbags if you are at immediate risk of flooding. Residents can call 01362 656870
  • South Norfolk Council has a supply of sandbags available at various locations for immediate emergency situations
• Guidance for households on how to prepare for any potential emergency from the Norfolk Resilience Forum. There is specific guidance on flooding
• Government guidance on preparing for flooding for business owners.
• Government guidance on preparing for flooding for communities and groups
• Watch a video on flood prevention with some useful tips from homeowners
• You should check your home insurance to make sure you are covered in case of a flood and your contents are correctly valued