Information about how to prepare for and protect your home from flooding
Types of flooding
Flooding can occur from several different sources including:
- Tidal or coastal flooding – occurs due to a combination of high tides, stormy conditions and storm surges.
- River flooding – occurs when there is an overflow of water from a river due to water levels exceeding its capacity.
- Surface water flooding – occurs when heavy rainfall exceeds the capacity of a drainage system, watercourse or the ground to absorb the water.
- Groundwater flooding – occurs when water levels in the ground rise above the surface.
- Sewer flooding – occurs when the amount of water entering sewer systems exceeds its capacity or when sewers are blocked.
Flood warnings
The Environment Agency are responsible for issuing flood warnings in England and Wales. There are three tiers of flood warnings issued:
- Flood Alert – Flooding is possible, be prepared and check weather reports / Floodline.
- Flood Warning – Flooding is expected, immediate action is required to protect yourself and your property.
- Severe Flood Warning – Flooding is imminent and poses a significant danger to life and/or disruption to communities and essential services.
You can register to receive notification of potential river or coastal flooding via the Environment Agency ‘Flood Warning Service’ online or by calling 0345 988 0088.
There is currently no flood warning service available for surface water, sewer or groundwater flooding.
Be prepared
You can help to reduce the risk of flooding to yourself and your property in many ways. We recommend several steps which you can take:
- Check the Environment Agency website to find out if your property or business is at risk of flooding: https://www.gov.uk/check-flooding
- Register to the Environment Agency’s flood warning service and know what different flood and weather warnings mean.
- Make your home more flood resilient and don’t wait until flooding looks likely to buy or install flood protection equipment. The Blue Pages provide further information on flood protection products.
- Read the Norfolk Resilience Forum webpages on ‘preparing your home for emergencies information’ and ‘what to do during a flood’.
- Read the Borough Council & Environment Agency annual ‘Flood Warning Information’ leaflet.
- Prepare a household emergency plan and grab-bag, examples of which can be found on the Norfolk Resilience Forum website.
Please be aware, we do not provide or have stocks of sandbags for property level protection as they are not 100% effective. We recommend other property level measures be used instead, such as fitted flood boards and flood resistant doors.
Reporting flooding
In an emergency, if people or property are in immediate danger from floodwater, call the Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service on 999.
You can report flooding and flood related issues by phoning the Norfolk Flood Helpline on 0344 800 8013. You can also report a flood on the Norfolk County Council website.
To report a burst water main or sewer flooding, contact Anglian Water online or call 03457 145145.