If your house is situated in an area liable to be affected by flooding you are strongly advised to spend some time and money preparing and planning for a flood event.  More detailed guidance can be seen on the Environment Agency website but in summary:-

• Agree a plan of action within your household
• Know the location of your airbricks
• Know how to turn your mains power/gas supplies off
• Keep an emergency bag with radio, batteries and a torch upstairs
• Keep irreplaceable sentimental items upstairs

By taking these simple preparatory measures you could be saving yourself and your family from serious physical, financial and emotional hurt that flooding can cause.  You may be able to recover physically and financially from the affect of flooding, but all too often the long term emotional effects on a family are not so quickly fixed.

"What to do before, during and after a flood" Leaflet (PDF - 374kb) - Environment Agency website

Flooding: Practical and personal advice on how to prepare, act and recover from a flood - link to British Red Cross website

How To Protect Your Home And Possessions

Local authorities are not required to provide material for flood protection.  Babergh District Council will endeavour to assist our residents before, during, and after a flooding event if at all possible.  However, this is largely dependent on the scale and nature of the flooding and if it is classed as an emergency.  Council employees may be able to assist in the following ways:

• Assist in any evacuation or relocation of residents to rest centres during an emergency
• Assist with road closures and overflowing drains caused by flood waters
• Assist in the clean up after the flood waters have subsided
• Advise and assist residents after the event

Whilst we appreciate each and every resident in our District will regard their own home as their main concern, we hope you can appreciate that we will sometimes have to prioritise our resources.  This may mean you find that we are unable to assist you as much as you would like, whilst our resources are deployed to other potentially more vulnerable and higher risk areas.

You must protect your own home. There are household protection products available which help to stop water and effluents entering your home in the event of a flood.

The Emergency Kit

This cost-effective kit contains everything needed to protect the home from the worst effects of flooding. It is compact and easy to store, and no permanent fixtures are needed. It is simple to apply, with no specialist or technical knowledge required.

It includes:-

1. Perimeter sealant for doors and windows
2. Wallshield preparation for water resistance
3. Easy to use sealant gun with 3 nozzles
4. Door barrier and emergency gel
5. 4 air brick covers
6. Flood wrap for additional security to doors/windows

The kit is easy to use, compact to store. Protects walls, airbricks and doorways. Can even be used in wet conditions.

Economical, More effective than sandbags, environmentally friendly, using low-waste foil packs rather than traditional, slow to degrade plastic tubes.

Vent Guards

Re-usable, easy to fit covers are available for your airbricks. Ventguards have a stainless steel plate backed by a special rubber-sealing layer that simply screws into place when flooding threatens.

Floodgates

Floodgates have an expanding metal frame that fits 99% of domestic doorways in seconds. In most cases the thick rubber cover moulds itself to the doorway, but where the surrounding surfaces are very rough a non permanent sealant is provided for fitting.

Permanent Fittings

If your home is threatened by flooding regularly or you are in an area of particularly high risk, you might like to consider more permanent measures. There are lots of systems that clip or slot into place. Make sure that the one you choose is suitable for your property, has been properly tested and is professionally installed. Some products have the BSI Kitemark.

Water Absorbent FloodBags

These easily stored and handled bags each weigh around 600g each and have a 5-10 year shelf life. They absorb 25 litres of water in a few minutes and then act as a water-barrier. Keeping a box of 20 FloodBags in your cupboard is the equivalent to storing 20 sandbags weighing half a tonne in your living room.

Where Can I Get These Flood Defence Products?

All these products are available for purchase from:

IFDP Ltd.                              Tel: 01953 644033
16 Mere Street                    Email: enquiries@ifdp.co.uk
Diss
IP22 4AD                                                            

and other flood product suppliers.  A range of other products are available on the website  www.IFDP.co.uk

What About Sandbags?

Sandbags are heavy, ineffective and you may not be able to get them in times of need. If you are unable to acquire sandbags, then bin liners or plastic carrier bags filled with sand or earth (but avoid sharp objects) can be used.

These builder’s merchants hold stock of sandbags and sand for purchase:

• Rigeons Ltd, 39 Knightsdale Road, Ipswich (01473 241200)
• Collier & Catchpole ltd, Wherstead Road, Ipswich (01473 689605)
• Build Base Ltd, Lady Lane Industrial Estate, Hadleigh IP7 6BQ  (01473 822318)
• M.T.M Plant Hire, Chilton Industrial Estate, Sudbury (01787 312007) (Sand bags only)
• Martin Build Base, Chilton Industrial Estate, Sudbury (01787 373617) (sand only)
• Rigeons Ltd, off Windham Road, Sudbury (01787 881777)

Keep Alive To Flooding!

Local information on radio and TV

• BBC Radio Suffolk 95.5,103.9 &104.6
• Classic Gold Amber 1170 & 1271 am
• Town FM 102.0fm
• Suffolk Community Radio 96.4 & 97.1
• Ipswich Community Radio 105.7 fm
• ITV Teletext on page 154

The 24-hour National Floodline number is:

0845 988 1188

For information on flash flooding – tune into your local radio station

If you are in an area that’s likely to flood, you can join the Floodline service, and they will call or text you if they predict dangerous water levels. Register for alerts at:

 www.environment-agency.gov.uk

But remember that the Environment Agency cannot do anything to help individuals.

You need to take action yourself.

• Water finds the easiest way into your home. Very often, that’s through airbricks and low-level vents. Block doors, airbricks and vents. Do as much as you can in daylight hours.
  
• Turn off electricity and gas as soon as your property begins to flood.
  
• Try to put your valuables out of harm’s way. Take warm clothes, hot drinks, food, essential medication, a torch and a battery radio upstairs or to a safe place.
  
• Secure and seal all your rubbish and chemicals.
  
• Try to keep warm and dry and check on your neighbours.
  
• Move vehicles to higher ground if it is safe to do so.
  
• Remember your pets and animals. Identify somewhere safe to take them if flooding occurs.
  
• Tie up curtains, pile up furniture and roll up carpets if you can.
  
• Continue to watch water levels, listen to weather forecasts and ring Floodline for updates.
  
• It is important to adequately insure your property and contents before the event – Damage through flooding can be costly!

Safety First!

• Airbricks and air vents should only be sealed during flood conditions.
• Ensure that they are re-opened immediately the flooding subsides.
• Do not use electrical or gas appliances if your house is flooded or you have sealed airbricks or air vents.