Protect your home, business, and community from the impact of flooding this winter.
In Winter it is inevitable that parts of the UK will experience storms, which lead to flooding, so we all need to be prepared and focus on the actions we can take to protect, respond, and recover. Adapting to the growing risk can help increase our resilience and ultimately lessen the devastation that flooding brings.
Back in 2020 a succession of storms highlighted the devastating impact of flooding to homes, businesses, and communities. Storm Christoph, followed by Storm Dennis brought record rainfall and high river levels, resulting in hundreds of flood warnings being issued nationwide. This led to widespread disruption across the UK, in particular the North-west, Midlands and Wales.
Be more prepared and resilient
With thousands of properties flooded, residents forced to evacuate, and insurance claims totalling millions of pounds, the physical and economic impacts of flooding are clear to see. However, the long-term impacts of flooding are not as easy to identify, and such incidents can frequently lead to stress and mental health issues.
As efforts continue across the UK to defend and protect communities against flooding, climate change is bringing increased winter rainfall, thus increasing flood risk further. Therefore, there is an increasing acknowledgement that we must learn to live with floods by helping homeowners and communities to be more prepared and resilient.
What are the benefits of property flood resilience?
Taking steps to make your property more flood resilient can greatly reduce the impact and resulting damage of flooding. Simple resilience measures can also reduce recovery time and help those at risk of flooding secure affordable insurance.
There are a range of innovative resistance measures available that are far more effective than sandbags at limiting water entry and also reduce the damage caused by flood water when it enters a property. These recoverable measures include water resistant plaster on walls and replacing flooring with resilient and easy to clean surfaces, such as tiles rather than carpet to reduce damage. Electrical sockets may also be raised to a higher level, meaning that should the property flood, the electricity supply would not be lost.
Community support
Alongside such property flood resilience (PFR) actions, a vital element of being prepared for flooding is to have well-rehearsed flood emergency response plans, both personal and community focused. Providing community support and helping communities to be more prepared is crucial to improving resilience.
Encouraging the wider awareness and take-up of PFR were central themes to the recent Defra funded PFR Pathfinder projects, which we supported. Playing an integral role in both the Yorkshire and South-West pathfinders, we assisted in the development of valuable website content, videos and exhibition resources that highlight the support available and the benefits that can be achieved through PFR.
For more information about how we can help you better protect your home, business or community from the impacts of flooding, please contact Head of Water Management, Steve Thompsett.
You can find out more about PFR and obtain indicative costs for a range of property types and PFR measures using the Property Protection Advisor tool at the National Flood Forum. Advice and support for those at risk of flooding can also be found by visiting the National Flood Forum. Advice and support for those at risk of flooding can also be found by visiting the National Flood Forum.
Services
Delivering transformative technology that is pioneering in the pursuit of flood, water and environmental resilience.
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Developing leading resilience strategies and solutions founded on the integrated modelling and assessment of water quantity, quality and environmental processes.
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Working within a robust and mature digital delivery environment, our engineering specialists work closely with our modelling, hydrology and environmental teams to ensure designs are developed to create efficient, low-carbon and sustainable solutions.
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Our specialists in landscape, heritage, ecology, fisheries, EIA, planning and sustainability all work collaboratively with our engineering designers, modellers and our project managers to develop resilient places.
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Our proven skills and experience make us a natural partner to help support communities and organisations to become more resilient. We support and empower our clients to manage the twin risks of flood and drought, encouraging and delivering effective water management.
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Working with communities across the world to identify and mitigate flood and environmental risks, support sustainable development and build resilience.
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