Flood water rarely announces itself politely. It seeps under a back door at two in the morning, backs up through a downstairs toilet, or turns a quiet lane into a river in twenty minutes. The households that cope best are rarely the ones with the most kit. They are the ones who had a plan, a box of documents, and a rough idea of which order to do things in.
What follows is a practical checklist for before, during and after a flood. None of it is expensive and little of it is dramatic. Read it now, while everything is dry, and keep a printed copy somewhere you can find it in the dark.
Before: the bits people leave too late
Start with insurance, because it decides how the next six months will go. Check that your buildings and contents policies cover flooding, and write down the policy numbers, the excess and the 24-hour claims line. If you rent, your landlord insures the building but almost certainly not your belongings. If your home sits in a flood-prone area, ask your insurer whether the Flood Re scheme applies to your policy.
Then do the boring admin that pays off later:
- Photograph or film every room, including inside cupboards, and email the files to yourself. A dated record of what you owned is worth more than any argument you can have on the phone.
- Keep passports, birth certificates, insurance papers and a spare set of keys in a waterproof box upstairs — not in a bottom drawer.
- Sign up for free flood warnings from the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA or NI Direct, depending on where you live. They arrive by phone, text or email.
- Agree with your household where you would go if you had to leave, and who would collect the children or the dog.
Know how to switch things off
Ten minutes spent finding these now saves panic later.
Water
Find your internal stopcock — often under the kitchen sink or in a downstairs cloakroom — and turn it to check it still moves. Clockwise closes it. If it is seized solid, book a plumber before you need one.
Electricity
Know where your consumer unit is and which switch is the main one. Never touch it with wet hands, and never wade across a flooded room to reach it. If water is already inside, leave the electrics alone and get out.
Gas
Locate the meter and the emergency control valve. If you smell gas, do not flick switches or use a phone indoors — get everyone outside and call the National Gas Emergency Service from there.
When a warning arrives, work in this order
- Move the document box, medication, laptops and anything sentimental upstairs. Photographs go on high shelves, not the floor.
- Move the car to higher ground straight away. Roads close early, and a stranded car becomes another problem to solve.
- Fill bottles, the bath and buckets with clean water for drinking, washing and flushing. If you are leaving, turn the water off at the stopcock.
- Unplug appliances and lift what you can onto tables — but do not pick your way through standing water to do it.
- Charge phones and power banks, and dig out torches and batteries.
- Pack a bag in case you have to go: ID, medication, chargers, warm clothes, nappies, pet food, and a phone number written on paper.
- Sandbags from the council help, but they need to go down before the water arrives. Hessian sacks filled with soil, covered with plastic sheeting, work reasonably well in a doorway.
If you have to leave
Follow the advice of the emergency services over anything you read elsewhere, including this. Before you go, close the windows, lock up, and turn off the gas, electricity and water if it is safe to reach them. Tell a neighbour or relative where you are going.
Do not walk or drive through floodwater. It hides open drains, lifted manhole covers, sharp debris and sewage, and it does not take much moving water to stall a car or knock an adult off their feet. If you cannot see the road surface, do not drive it. Take the long route.
When the water goes down
Wait until you are told it is safe to return. As you approach, look at the outside first: leaning walls, fresh cracks, a smell of gas, ceilings sagging under trapped water. If anything looks structurally wrong, stay out and call your council or insurer.
Before you move a single item, photograph and film everything, including the tidemark on the walls. Then ring your insurer. Most policies want the claim reported before you start ripping out carpets, and many will send an approved contractor. Keep every receipt for hotels, meals and replacement essentials, because emergency accommodation is often covered.
Do not switch the electricity back on until a qualified electrician has checked the installation, and have gas appliances inspected by a registered engineer before use. If the claim process feels overwhelming, or an offer looks wrong, it is worth talking to an independent loss assessor or a solicitor before you sign anything.
Clearing up without making yourself ill
Assume all flood water is contaminated. Wear wellingtons, waterproof gloves and a mask if you are stirring up silt or mould, cover cuts with waterproof plasters, and wash your hands before you eat. Keep children and pets out of affected rooms. If you are pregnant, have a long-term health condition or a weakened immune system, ask your GP or NHS 111 for advice before doing the clean-up yourself rather than after.
A few things that make the drying faster:
- Pump or sweep out standing water, then strip sodden carpets and underlay, which will not dry and will hold the smell.
- Plasterboard that has soaked up water usually needs cutting away to above the waterline so the wall behind can dry.
- Open windows when you can, run dehumidifiers, and keep the heating on low rather than blasting one room with a fan heater.
- Throw away any food floodwater has touched, including items in cardboard or loose packaging, and follow your water company's advice on drinking water, including any boil notice.
Keep this where you will find it
Print the checklist, or write the key numbers on a card and stick it inside a kitchen cupboard: insurer, council, water company, energy supplier, GP. Add the name of one neighbour who would notice if your lights were off.
Flooding is slow, dull and exhausting, and recovery usually takes far longer than the news coverage lasts. Ask your council what support and grants are available, and be wary of cold-callers offering immediate clean-up or repairs — get written quotes and check registration before you hand over money or sign a contract. If the whole thing leaves you anxious or unable to sleep, that is a normal reaction to an abnormal few weeks, and your GP can point you towards support.
Photo: trilemedia / Pixabay
