What to do if your property is flooded

Who is responsible for dealing with flooding?

Residents and business owners are responsible for protecting their own property from flood water. We recommend you take the time to adequately prepare for potential flooding. For information on how to prepare for long term or immediate flood risk, please see flood warnings and planning.

As a lead local flood authority, The Council has a responsibility to manage the overall flood risk in the borough. This includes clearing drains and gullies, and maintaining a multi agency flood plan.

The responsibility for flooding (preparations, planning, response and recovery) however is more complex, and depends on the nature (location and type) of the flood.

The Environment Agency has a plan to help you understand your responsibilities if :

• you own land adjoining, above or with a watercourse running through it, you have certain rights and responsibilities – in legal terms you are a ‘riparian owner’
• you rent the land, you should agree with the owner who will manage these rights and responsibilities

In the event of widespread flooding

If there is a risk to life, a serious risk to property or to the environment call 999.

In the event of widespread flooding, the Council will take action to support as many residents as possible, in joint partnership with the emergency services and local voluntary sector bodies, from rescue operations to providing emergency shelter for up to the first 48 hours.

Council officers wearing high visibility clothing will be in the area once it’s safe to do so, to offer advice, and support recovery where possible.

What you should do during a flood

• keep up to date about the weather and risks to your property using radio, TV, web, or social media
• keep outside drains clear to let surface water escape
• turn off gas, electricity and water supplies before flood water enters your property (if it’s safe to do so)
• put plugs in sinks and baths and weigh them down to stop water overflowing into your home
• wash your hands whenever they come into contact with flood water as they may be contaminated
• look after your neighbours – even in the summer, people can suffer from hypothermia after their homes have become flooded with cold rainwater
• be careful if you have a private water supply – flooding can affect its quality and damage equipment, boil it before drinking or using it for food preparation
• if your home has been flooded, move your family and pets upstairs, or to a high place with a means of escape, take your emergency grab bag with you
• if you’re using a petrol or diesel water pump, put the generator outside, keep your doors and windows closed, use a carbon monoxide detector in your home – generators produce carbon monoxide fumes which can kill

I am a flooded Council tenant

• get to safety by moving upstairs or leaving the property via a dry and safe route
• if safe to do so, consider moving furniture and furnishings to a high level, or upstairs
• if you are experiencing sewer flooding, use the Thames Water blockage reporting tool to see what to do next
• if your home has been flooded by a burst pipe outside of your home, contact Thames Water to report it
• do not eat or drink anything which has been in contact with flood water. If you notice a change to the look, taste or smell of your tap water, contact Thames Water
• you may need to organise a bulky waste collection
• contact your insurance company as soon as possible to advise them of the situation – they may require steps to be followed before you can begin cleaning out the property
• follow Public Health England’s guidance on how to clear up flood damage safely – your insurance company may be able to appoint professionals for this purpose
• do not return to your property until advised that it is safe to do so
• you may find that your utilities have been disconnected for safety reasons – contact the utility companies and/or the Council’s housing repairs on 0208 356 3691
• electrical appliances which have been submerged may need to be checked by an electrician prior to use
• if you are a pet owner, follow the guidance on pets and flooding provided by the Blue Cross – emergency shelters may not accept pets, so try to make arrangements with friends or family

I am a flooded private renter

• get to safety by moving upstairs or leaving the property via a dry and safe route
• if safe to do so, consider moving furniture and furnishings to a high level, or upstairs
• contact your landlord as soon as possible – advice on your rights and the responsibility of your landlord can be found on Citizens Advice
• contact your insurance company as soon as possible to advise them of the situation – they may require steps to be followed before you can begin cleaning out the property
• if your property is made uninhabitable, and either your own, or your landlord’s insurance company is unable to provide you with alternative accommodation, you can seek support via the Council’s homelessness service
• if you are experiencing sewer flooding, use the Thames Water blockage reporting tool to see what to do next
• if your home has been flooded by a burst pipe outside of your home, contact Thames Water to report it
• follow Public Health England’s guidance on how to clear up flood damage safely – your insurance company may be able to appoint professionals for this purpose
• you may need to organise a bulky waste collection
• do not eat or drink anything which has been in contact with flood water. If you notice a change to the look, taste or smell of your tap water, contact Thames Water
• electrical appliances which have been submerged may need to be checked by an electrician prior to use
• if you are a pet owner, follow the guidance on pets and flooding provided by the Blue Cross – emergency shelters may not accept pets, so try to make arrangements with friends or family

I am a flooded property owner

• get to safety by moving upstairs or leaving the property via a dry and safe route
• if safe to do so, consider moving furniture and furnishings to a high level, or upstairs
• contact your insurance company as soon as possible to advise them of the situation – they may require steps to be followed before you can begin cleaning out your property
• if you do not have insurance, contact the National Flood Forum for support and advice
• if your property is made uninhabitable and your insurance company is unable to provide you with alternative accommodation, you can seek support via the Council’s homelessness service
• if you are experiencing sewer flooding, use the Thames Water blockage reporting tool to see what to do next
• if you have a damaged pipe which is causing flooding in your home, you will need to find a plumber
• if your home has been flooded by a burst pipe outside of your home, contact Thames Water to report it
• follow Public Health England’s guidance on how to clear up flood damage safely – your insurance company may be able to appoint professionals for this purpose
• you may need to organise a bulky waste collection
• do not return to your property until advised that it is safe to do so
• you may find that your utilities have been disconnected for safety reasons – contact the utility companies as they may need to perform a safety inspection
• if your property is at risk of flooding again, consider improving its physical resilience – the Blue Pages provide a directory of flood products and services
• do not eat or drink anything which has been in contact with flood water. If you notice a change to the look, taste or smell of your tap water, contact Thames Water
• electrical appliances which have been submerged may need to be checked by an electrician prior to use
• if you are a pet owner, follow the guidance on pets and flooding provided by the Blue Cross – emergency shelters may not accept pets, so try to make arrangements with friends or family

After a flood

Flood investigation

As part of the duties under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA) are required to investigate flooding incidents.

Section 19 (S19) came into force in April 2011 and states that:

On becoming aware of a flood in its area, a lead local flood authority must, to the extent that it considers it necessary or appropriate, investigate:
(a) which risk management authorities have relevant flood risk management functions;
(b) whether each of those risk management authorities has exercised, or is proposing to exercise, those functions in response to the flood.

Where an authority carries out an investigation under subsection (1) it must:
(a) publish the results of its investigation;
(b) notify any relevant risk management authorities.

The above Act does not compel the LLFA to identify all the causes and parties responsible for the flooding. It only requires identifying the risk management authorities (RMAs) with relevant flood risk management functions.

Following the conclusion of a formal investigation, a report will be published on the findings.

The report will:

• analyse the affected area and its flood history
• summarise all of the information gathered during the investigation
• identify relevant flood risk management authorities and where possible identify possible flood resilience actions that could be taken

It should be recognised that the LLFA has limited funds and resources to complete flood investigations. To accommodate this, a threshold for triggering investigations is set by the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

To ensure consistency, the threshold for investigation is defined as – a flood incident caused by local flood risk sources or a combination of sources where the main source is unclear that exceeds the definition of Locally Significant Harmful Consequences.

The Locally Significant Harmful Consequences will result in investigation where:

• 20 persons/8.46 properties (assuming 2.36 people per property) have been flooded during a single flood incident
• disruption to 1 or more critical services
• 10 non-residential properties are affected
• 20m of road flooding to 50cm deep or 50m of rail impacted
• 1 or more internationally or nationally designated sites are affected (impacts to be identified and reviewed on a case by case basis)
• 4 or more heritage features are impacted (reviewed on a case by case basis as some features may not be detrimentally impacted by flooding)

The investigation will identify which Risk Management Authority (for example us or the Environment agency) have a flood risk management function in relation to the flood.

It will then detail what each authority with a relevant function is going to or has done in response to the flooding incident.

Recent flood investigations

• flood investigation report – September 2014 (PDF 2.8mb)