Keep yourself safe
It's important to keep yourself safe during a flood.
- Flooding and health advice on GOV.UK
- Avoid driving through flood water, even a shallow amount can cause harm to vehicles and hide potential debris and lifted manholes. Driving through floodwater can also cause floodwater to surge towards properties which can then increase the risk of it entering and damaging properties.
- If you have no choice but to drive through shallow floodwaters, you should drive slowly to minimise damage to yourself and others.
- Keep dry and out of floodwater, if possible.
- Stay in your property, if safe to do so, until advised otherwise by the emergency services. If you have to leave your home, follow the AA's advice on driving in heavy rain, standing water and floods.
- Wash your hands or any other parts of your body that have been in contact with floodwater before attending to any wounds.
- Don't allow children to play in floodwater. As well as the risk of disease, there could be a risk of drowning.
- Wait upstairs or somewhere safe until the flood subsides, unless you're told otherwise.