Prepare for flooding
Protect your property
Before a flood happens you can make changes to your property to reduce the damage flooding can do, for example:
- laying tiles instead of carpets
- 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
Read more about how to prepare your property for flooding.
You can:
- get further advice from the National Flood Forum about how to protect your property and how much this will cost
- find flood protection products and services at Blue Pages
You may need permission to do work that will affect the flow of a river or divert flood water.
Know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water
You’ll need to turn off your mains water, gas and electricity if you have to leave your home during a flood.
The water stop tap (also called a ‘stopcock’), gas shut-off valves and the electrical main switch are in different places in different properties.
You’ll usually find:
- your water stop tap inside your home where your water supply comes in, or outside near to your property’s boundary under a cover
- your gas shut-off valve next to your gas meter
- your mains electricity cut off on your fuse board with a big on and off switch