The importance of reporting flooding to the correct authority
Flood risk management is a complicated system
In the UK the management of flooding is broken down by its source of flooding (river, surface water, ground water, reservoir and sewer). For each source there is then a designated risk management authority who is responsible for managing the risk of flooding from the relevant source.
In England authorities range from the Environment Agency, responsible for taking a strategic overview of the management of main rivers (fluvial) and coastal flooding, including coastal defences, to water and sewage companies, which are responsible for managing the risks of flooding from piped water and sewer systems, and also the general public as riparian owners of watercourses.
The National Flood Forum has more information on the various authorities involved, where you can also find more support and information about community flooding.
The flooding did not get inside my business
Often flooding is only reported when it is internal and damages property. However external flooding should also be considered as it may be a symptom of a larger issue and can impede access/ use of spaces. Therefore, reporting external flooding such as flooding in car parks, roads, gardens and parks should also be undertaken.
Meeting the threshold for grant funding
The Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme, overseen by DEFRA makes grants available to local authorities if more than the agreed threshold number of properties have been affected by flooding (historically 25). If the local authority does not reach the threshold number of properties they are unable to access the grants.
Whilst this may be because the flooding was limited to a few properties. It can also be because flooding goes unreported and therefore the local authority does not meet the criteria to access the grant, which ultimately means that households and businesses will lose out.
That’s why it’s crucial that anyone whose property is affected by flooding should report it to the relevant risk management authority.
Building the case for capital intervention
Of course, reporting flood damage is also vital in helping to build up a detailed picture of flooding events in order for risk management authorities to fully understand the patterns and risks.
Following a flood, the risk management authority may want to carry out an investigation, to understand the source of flooding and resultant impact to understand the best responses to take for similar future events.
Building a detailed history of local flooding can help authorities pinpoint the areas that are most affected and put plans in place. Flood alleviation schemes can be expensive to design and implement, so the greater the business case for building a flood scheme, the more chance it has of being constructed.
Report every flood
So how should home and business owners report flood damage to their properties?
The best course of action is to report flooding to the appropriate risk management authority which can be done on their websites. Not only will this enable you to start the process for applying for any grants available, but the report will improve data so the risk management authorities can begin to see the bigger picture and build long term resilience.
Capturing all the relevant data and planning ahead will become a key part of dealing with future storms.
We can help
If you want to learn more about managing flood risks, get in touch with the author of this article. At Zurich Resilience Solutions, our specialists in flood resilience can provide customised services to help you.
James Harvey, Zurich Resilience Solutions, Risk Engineer
james.harvey1@uk.zurich.com