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Act now to prepare for flooding

Community Advice and Support
09:35, Tuesday, 23rd November 2021

This week is Flood Action Week and North Lincolnshire Council is urging everyone to draw up a personal action plan to help protect themselves and their properties from flooding.

The average cost of flooding to a home is £30,000, and the mental health impacts can last long after the waters have receded.

Taking steps to prevent flooding and knowing what to do in a flood can cut the damage to homes and possessions by up to 40 per cent, as well as reduce the risk to life.

The council website community advice and support section has comprehensive information on what to do before, during and after a flood and you can download a leaflet from the Humber Resilience Forum about practical steps to take.

This includes:

  • Know how to turn off your electricity, gas and water.
  • Check your insurance cover.
  • Make a personal flood plan – download this template.
  • Sign up for flood update warnings.

There is also advice from the Environment Agency website about planning ahead for flooding.

The council has a comprehensive emergency plan in the event of flooding in the area and has backed this up with infrastructure to protect the most at-risk communities.

Recently this included the opening of the South Ferriby flood defences by Council leader Rob Waltham.

The landmark £14m project reduces the flood risk for 150 properties, 3,000 hectares of agricultural land and vital infrastructure.

The improvements are part of the ongoing investment in tidal flood risk management around the Humber.

Further work is now under way to install ‘property flood resilience’ measures to around 20 homes in Winteringham.