Flood Action Week 2022
What is Flood Action Week?
Amid increased extreme weather events brought on by the climate emergency, the Environment Agency is launching an awareness campaign – Flood Action Week – to encourage those who live in areas at risk of flooding to act now to protect their home, possessions and family.
Don’t get caught out; It can happen to you
Recent polling suggests nearly two in three households at risk from flooding do not believe their homes could flood. But just because it hasn’t happened to you in the past, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.
In England, there are over 5 million properties at risk of flooding. Research shows that people who haven’t taken action to prepare for flooding are in the clear minority (30%), however, this still means that as many as 1.5 million households who are at risk, are yet to prepare. With climate change already causing more frequent, intense flooding and sea level rise, we all need to know what to do, should the worst happen.
The risks of not taking action 
According to the Environment Agency, the average cost of flooding to a home is around £30,000. It can also bring a significant risk to life. The mental health impacts of flooding can last for 2 years or more after the event has occurred with depression, anxiety and PTSD affecting up to a third of people.
But, crucially, taking steps to prepare for flooding, and knowing what to do in a flood, can significantly reduce the damages to a home and possessions (by around 40%), reduce risk to life, and reduce the likelihood of suffering from mental health impacts in the future.
Know how to Prepare. Act. Survive.
The good news, however, is that there are some simple things you can do to prepare, which could help keep you and your family safe, and save you thousands of pounds in damages and disruption.
Caroline Douglass, Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency, said, “Climate change is happening now. We’re seeing more extreme weather-in this year alone with three named storms in a week, record-breaking temperatures and drought declared across large parts of the country.
That is why it is vital that people take the necessary preparations as early as possible to prepare for the worst. Our recent investment programme has better protected 314,000 homes from flooding and we’re investing millions into keeping communities safe, but we can’t stop all flooding.
The message is clear. Households risk ignoring the danger of flooding at their own peril. Anyone can go online to check if they are at risk, sign up for Environment Agency warnings, and, most importantly, know what you need to do if flooding hits.”
For more information and to find out if you are at risk, visit the how to plan ahead for flooding page on GOV.UK to get prepared.
To read more on Flood Action Week, please click here.
To read our story on the flood resilience project in Cumbria, which won us the Environment Agency’s project excellence award for climate resilience, please follow this link: https://rtcgroup.co.uk/award-winning-news/
