Flooding resources

Before flooding – be prepared

Some people will have experienced flooding before and know they live in flood-prone areas and have made plans. However, flash flooding can happen in other areas and take you by surprise and this has happened in Bridport to a number of properties. Springs have cropped up in back gardens, a deluge from a field, flooding due to a neighbour’s drive becoming a hard surface, run off from all the roads nearby and so on. Flash floods are unpredictable and it’s a good idea to think about what actions we can take to be prepared.

Familiarise yourself with the Government’s Flood alerts: Flood alerts and warnings – GOV.UK

See if your area is vulnerable to long term flooding risk Check the long term flood risk for an area in England – GOV.UK

Having the right kit is essential in an emergency. Create an emergency kit filled with essentials for your home, car and when you’re on the move. Prepare an emergency kit | British Red Cross

Flood wardens helping bail out

During flooding

In an emergency, if there is a risk to life, report flooding to 999.

For other emergency reporting, who you need to contact depends on what’s flooding: https://www.gov.uk/report-flood-cause
For main rivers: Environment Agency incident hotline (24hr) 0800 80 70 60
For ordinary watercourses / surface water / roads: Dorset Council – 01305 221000
www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/flooding
For sewage / burst mains: Wessex Water 0345 600 4 600 (24hr) www.wessexwater.co.uk/your-wastewater/flooding/sewer-flooding
Don’t walk, swim, or drive through floodwater. Six inches of fast-flowing water can knock you over. Two feet of water can float a car.
Don’t walk on sea defences or riverbanks.
Avoid contact with floodwater. It may be contaminated with sewage. If you’re exposed, wash your hands and clothes thoroughly in clean water.
Don’t allow children to play in or near floodwater.

Flood Wardens

Bridport Town Council has a number of Flood Wardens who can assist residents during a flood. We also have a supply of sand bags – please call the office on 01308 456722 to arrange collection or see if a Flood Warden is available to help.

After flooding

Reporting of flooding is crucial for incident response and also for long term planning of flood risk reduction measures. If you have been impacted by flooding but it has not been reported, then the relevant authorities may not be aware of what has occurred.

After a flood event, please give details of flooding at your property to ensure the Dorset Council Flood Risk Management team are aware and can build up a picture of the situation. This enables them to plan future engineering works to alleviate flooding problems. https://floodreport.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/

Food safety after a flood – consumer advice

How to prepare your food safely in the event of a flood in the home as a consumer or have home-grown fruit and vegetables. Advice from the Food Standards Agency.

Home Insurance

Flood Re is a joint initiative between the Government and insurers. Its aim is to make the flood cover part of household insurance policies more affordable.

Flood Re is a re-insurance Scheme that makes flood cover more widely available and affordable as part of your home insurance. Flood Re helps households at the highest risk of flooding. They also provide information about taking action to reduce flood risk. Flood Re will run until 2039, at which point insurers should be offering policies based on actual risk to property.

Flood Re – A flood re-insurance scheme

Federation of Independent Retailers

The Fed has funds in place to assist members in times of need, for example if your store has been damaged by flood water. Please call 0207 017 8880 or email [email protected] to find out about the help available to you.