Prepare a Flood Plan

What is a flood plan?
Flooding can happen very quickly, giving you little time to act. Preparing a flood plan is the best way to protect yourself, your family/colleagues/community and your property/belongings from the risk of flooding, or from the effects of flooding if the worst should happen.

Four different flood alerts including, No Flood Warnings in green, Flood Alert in orange, Flood Warning in red and black and Severe Flood Warning in all red.

If you live in an area that could be flooded (one in six households are at risk), you should write a plan outlining what you will do. Keep it somewhere safe but easy to find and put one in your emergency flood pack. Also, make sure everyone in your household/ business/ community group is familiar with your flood plan. Remember: many properties are at risk of flash flooding even if they are located well above flood plains and away from rivers.

When preparing a flood plan you should include useful contacts, a trigger for action, steps to take and a list of essential items to have to hand when it floods. Be sure to keep it somewhere that everyone can find it and check it regularly to ensure that it is up to date. The Environment Agency has free flood plan templates which cover the basics.

Flood Plan Templates

Do you know your flood codes?

Flood Alert - Orange
Flooding is possible. Be prepared, stay vigilant and consider action.

Flood Warning - Red
Flooding is expected. Take action, act on your flood plan and protect your property.

Severe Flood Warning - Bright Red
Danger to life. Act immediately, stay in a safe place and prepare to evacuate.

Preparing a flood plan on a computer ready to print out.

Writing a flood plan - what to include

Useful contacts
These should include Floodline, your local council, utilities providers, your insurance company, your local flood group.

Trigger for action
This will help you to know when to act on your plan. Specific warnings about river flooding comes from the Environment Agency’s Flood Warning Service called Floodline. You can sign up for free flood warnings online or by contacting Floodline on 0345 988 1188.

These warnings only cover the possibility of river flooding. If you think you might be at risk of other types of flooding, see: Check your flood risk and Sign Up For Weather Alerts.

Actions to take
Turn off gas and electricity, move important and valuable items to higher ground, deploy property-level protection, alert staff and request their help, and move animals and livestock to safety.

Flood kit
Prepare a flood kit or 'grab bag' of essential items to have to hand in case you should have to evacuate. For a list of items to include, view our flood kit page.

For more information, or help with preparing a flood plan from scratch, contact your local Environment Agency office at YorkshireFloodResilience@environment-agency.gov.uk.