Prepare 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 from the risk of flooding, or from the effects of flooding if the worst should happen.

Hand with pen and paper.
What is a flood plan?

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 if flooding happens.

You should:

  • Keep it somewhere safe but easy to find
  • Put one in your emergency flood pack
  • Make sure everyone in your household or community group is familiar with your flood plan
  • Check it regularly to ensure that it is up to date

Remember: many properties are at risk of flash flooding even if they are located well above flood plains and away from rivers.

The Environment Agency has free flood plan templates which cover the basics.

Flood plan templates

What should you include in a flood plan?

Here are some of the things to include in your flood plan:

Person holding a smart phone and points towards it
Useful contacts

This could 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 come 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, visit our 'Check flood risk' page.

Actions to take

You may wish to consider the following actions:

  • Turn off gas and electricity
  • Move important and valuable items to higher ground
  • Deploy property-level protection
  • Alert designated people and request their help
  • Move animals and livestock to safety
Kit of essentials packed and left in a easy accessible place.
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, visit our 'Flood Pack' page.

For more information, or help with preparing a flood plan from scratch, contact your local Environment Agency office at: [email protected].

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