Recover/protect yourself from flooding

To find out your risk of flooding, now and in the future, visit Check the long term flood risk for an area in England - GOV.UK. 

It is important to do this even if your property has never flooded before or you live in a very old property with no history of flooding. This is because the risk of flooding is increasing across the country, both in terms of the areas at risk and the amount of risk areas are exposed to (we are seeing properties that are hundreds of years old flooding for the first time, and properties that are flood-prone experiencing more severe flooding). 

This increase in flood risk is being driven by a number of factors including climate change, new developments/population growth, changes in land use etc.

The Environment Agency provides a free Flood Warning Service for areas at risk of flooding from Main Rivers, see map below.    

We aim to provide at least 30 minutes of advanced warning for the flashiest catchments, those where water levels rise rapidly in response to rainfall/snowmelt, but for most other watercourses we typically try to give 2 hours of warning before property flooding begins. This provides you some time to undertake necessary actions.

Note - this warning service does not currently provide warnings/alerts for other sources of flooding, such as surface water.

A map displaying the areas in Leicester City for which Flood Warnings and/or Flood Alerts are issued. These cover the vast majority, but not all, of the areas at risk of flooding from Statutory Main Rivers (also shown).

Understanding the different types of Flood Alerts and Warnings issued by the service. 

An image displaying the Flood Alert, Flood Warning and Severe Flood Warning Icons, with a brief description of what they signify, when they are issued, and what actions to take if they are issued

• You can choose which type/s of warning you would like to receive when you sign-up.
• You don't have to live in a flood alert or warning area to sign-up and you can choose which areas you'd like to receive them for.
• For more information (and an accessible version of the above image) visit Flood alerts and warnings: what they are and what to do - GOV.UK.

Register for the free Flood Warning Service by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188 (call charges may apply), or visiting Get flood warnings by text, phone or email - GOV.UK.