⏱ Read time: 6 min | 🌿 Difficulty: Beginner | ⏰ Time: A few hours to prepare | 👷 Manpower: 1 person
Floods bring destruction with them. They can ruin homes and businesses, knock out power grids, and in the worst cases put lives at risk. We can't stop a flood arriving, but we can control how ready we are for it.
Here's HSS DIY's guide to how to prepare your home for a flood in the UK, so you and your loved ones stay safe if the water does rise.
How can I prepare for a flood?
Flooding might feel like something that happens to other people, in other parts of the country. But conditions change fast, and rivers, drains and coastlines don't always give much warning. It's worth spending an afternoon on flood prevention now, even if you've never been affected before.
Sign up for flood warnings
One of the most effective things you can do is get yourself on the alert list. The Environment Agency's free flood warning service sends you a heads-up by text, phone or email when flooding is expected in your area, giving you time to act before water reaches your door.
You can sign up for flood warnings on GOV.UK, and it's worth checking your current flood risk even if you've never been flooded before, since risk areas do shift over time as rainfall patterns change.
Keep an eye on the weather
Most of us carry a weather forecast in our pocket these days. As well as official flood alerts, your phone's weather app gives you real-time rainfall updates for your exact area, and some apps will flag guidance on what to do if flooding looks likely nearby.
If you don't have a smartphone, the forecast on TV or radio does much the same job, just with a bit less precision.
Charge essential electricals
Once you know a flood is on the way, get your electrical essentials charged. Phones come first; you'll need a full battery to stay in touch with family or contact emergency services if things get serious. Power banks, torches and any medical devices that rely on a battery should go on the same list.
Find out how to turn off your power safely
If a flood warning lands and your area is at risk, you may need to turn off your electricity at the mains fuse box. Leaving the power on during a flood risks short circuits and electric shock.
Only switch it off if it's safe to reach the fuse box, and never touch it while standing in water. If you don't know where your fuse box is, or you're not confident switching it off, contact your energy supplier or a local electrician now, while the weather's calm, rather than finding out during an emergency.
Put together a flood emergency kit
Don't wait for a flooded house to start thinking about supplies. If you're in a flood-risk area, pack a waterproof bag with everything you'd need for a few days away from home:
- Warm, weatherproof clothing
- Any regular medication
- Non-perishable food and bottled water
- Phone chargers and a power bank
- Cash, since card readers and cash machines may be down
- Pet food, if you have animals to evacuate too
- Toiletries
- Important documents: passports, birth certificates, insurance paperwork
Check the bag every few months, keep it somewhere easy to grab, and make sure everyone in the house knows where it lives.
Make an evacuation plan
Just as you'd check the exits in an unfamiliar building, it's worth knowing your safest way out of the house before a flood, not during one. A simple evacuation plan can:
- Reduce risk to life by getting everyone to safety before flooding worsens
- Help the whole household know the safe routes and where to meet
- Keep everyone calmer, because there's a plan to follow rather than a scramble
Without one, a stressful situation gets a lot more dangerous. Agree the plan with everyone in the house, including where you'll go if you can't stay locally.
What can I do to prevent a flood in my home?
You can't move your house out of a flood's path, but there's a fair amount of flood prevention and damage control you can do before the water arrives.
Sandbags and flood barriers
Placing sandbags, purpose-made flood barriers, or even taped-down plastic sheeting across doorways and low windows can meaningfully reduce how much water gets into a flooded house.
You can fill your own sandbags with builder's sand and heavy-duty sacks, or buy them ready-made from a builders' merchant. It's worth having a stack ready before flood season rather than trying to source them once local supplies have sold out.
Check your door and window seals
While the weather's still dry, go round your external doors and windows and check the seals. Where they're worn or gappy, a frame sealant is a cheap fix. It won't keep flood water out on its own, but it closes up the small gaps and cracks that water finds first, and it helps with draughts and damp the rest of the year too.
What should I do if I end up with a flooded house?
If water does get in, getting it out quickly matters.
A submersible or puddle pump will shift standing water far faster than buckets, and a dehumidifier or dryer afterwards helps stop damp setting into floors, walls and carpets once the visible water is gone.
HSS DIY's full guide to flood recovery, drying and restoration covers what to do in the aftermath, from photographing damage for insurance to getting your home properly dry.
Prep your home for floods with HSS DIY
You can't control what the weather throws at you, but you can control how ready you are for it. Knowing how to prepare your home for a flood in the UK doesn't just reduce the damage to your property and belongings; it keeps you and the people you live with safe.
With weather alerts switched on, an emergency kit packed, and sandbags or a pump within reach, you'll have everything in place if and when you need it.
HSS DIY stocks the pumps, dryers and dehumidifiers you're likely to need before and after a flood, available to hire online 24/7 with next day delivery.
Buy the materials. Hire the tools. One order. All in one place.
