Flooding
What is the risk of flooding to Herefordshire, Shropshire or Worcestershire?
With so many rivers and watercourses, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire experience regular flooding that can seriously disrupt daily life.
Surface water flooding can strike with little warning, making it difficult to predict.
Never walk or drive through flood water, there may be underwater hazards and it may be deeper than it appears.
How could flooding
affect you and your property?
Flooding can happen when prolonged or heavy rainfall causes rivers to rise and overflow, sometimes hours after the rain due to upstream peaks.
It can also occur when intense rain falls faster than it can drain away, leading to surface water flooding on roads, fields and hard surfaces.
Surface water builds up when drains and ground can’t absorb water quickly enough, but usually clears once rainfall stops and drainage systems catch up.
Flooding could cause:
- Risk to life
- Disruption to utilities (electricity and water supply)
- Damage to property, businesses, and agricultural land
- Widespread structural damage
- Risk to life to animals and livestock
- Flooding of properties for extended periods of time
- Pollution and contamination of local environments
- Evacuation of residents
- Long term damage to tourism
- Short, medium and long-term businesses and agriculture
- Loss of accommodation for those whose homes or businesses are flooded
- Damage to national critical infrastructure
- Unrecoverable damage to businesses
We can all be better prepared to
respond and recover from flooding
Follow these practical steps so you and your family can be better prepared for flooding.
Sign up for flood warnings
You can check your flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation at:
Protect your property
Water can enter a house through air bricks and drains as well as through doors and windows. Products such as door seals and valves for drains can help. Prepare your flood defences and follow any official advice given in flood warnings. Sandbags can help, but there are other products available on the market which we recommend the public look at.
Plan ahead
Plan where you would go if you had to leave your home or place of work quickly. How would you get there if the roads or railways are flooded?
Prepare a grab bag
What would you need if you had to leave in a hurry? What would your family or your pets need?
Look after vulnerable neighbours
Identify any vulnerable neighbours–see if anyone needs assistance.
Have supplies in your home
Such as tinned food, long-life products and non-cook food, to help you to cope for up to three days if you are unable to evacuate.
How to prepare
your business
Evacuating
during a flood
- If you are advised to leave the area for your own safety, decide where you will go and how you will get there
- Ensure you have enough fuel in your vehicle for your journey
- If travelling by public transport, check what availability they may have as they may be running a reduced or changed service as a result of flooding
- Collect your emergency grab bag
- Remember to take all essential medication with you and any important documentation
- Where possible take your pets with you
- Let your neighbour(s) know what you are doing – where you are staying/going.
Staying put
during a flood
- Have supplies in your home that will enable you to cope for up to three days if you are unable to evacuate
- Take your valuable items upstairs, if possible, or place them up high in cupboards/shelves to protect them
- Avoid walking through flood water as much as possible – there can be hidden dangers such as debris/sharp objects/open manhole covers.
Driving
Do not attempt to drive through floodwater. Just a few inches of water can be enough to float your car and seriously damage your engine. Most flood-related deaths occur when people become trapped in their vehicles.
Driving through floodwater can also create large bow waves, which may damage nearby properties. Always avoid driving through flooded roads - it's dangerous and can make the situation worse for yourself and others.
Report a flood
If you are in a dangerous or life-threatening situation, call the emergency services on 999.
Contact your local council if you see flooding on the:
- roads
- highways
- public drains
- gullies
Call Highways England on: 0300 123 5000 if you see flooding on major trunk roads and motorways.
Call the Environment Agency Floodline number on: 0345 988 1188 if you see flooding from:
- collapsed or badly damaged river banks;
- flooding from main rivers;
- main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree causing risk of flooding;
- unusual changes in river flow
Call Severn Trent Water on 0800 783 4444 if you see flooding from sewers and burst water mains.
Find your emergency contacts for river and surface water flooding
After a Flood
Continue to monitor the LRF website/ social media channels for guidance and advice.
If you were flooded
- Take photographs of any damage if it is safe to do so - to provide to your insurance company
- If you switched off your electricity:
- Get your electric meter checked by the electricity transmission company;
- Get your fuse box and electrical sockets checked by an electrician
- Drinking tap water should be fine but if it looks an unusual colour or has a strange odour or tastes strange, or if you have concerns look at the advice on the Severn Trent website or contact Severn Trent.
- If in doubt, boil water first or use bottled water.
- Before you use gas appliances get a Gas Safe Engineer to check to ensure they are safe.
- Be aware of the health effects caused by a flood. When cleaning up, wear personal protective equipment as flood water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria. Advice can be found at GOV.UK.
- Be mindful of how the stress and traumatic feelings of personal loss, can have an impact on your own and the mental wellbeing of others. What to do after a flood.
What is being done to become
better prepared?
- If large numbers of residents are affected, we will set up emergency assistance centres in safe places near to affected communities.
- Assist people to evacuate if they require it.
- Keep the public informed of the changing situation via local media stations, social media and the LRF website.
- Maintain two-way communication with central government
to ensure that any additional national resources can be
provided to support the local response. - Produce multi-agency plans so that every responding
organisation knows what they can do, at the right time, to support people who may be affected by flooding. - Test the multi-agency plans through a variety of multi-agency training and exercises.
Who is responsible for managing
flooding in the county?
This service shows the long‑term flood risk for any area in England and how you can manage and reduce your risk:
For more information on the steps you can take to prepare for flooding, visit:
National Government advice on what to do after a flood:
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