If you, or anyone else is in danger as a result of a flood, call 999.
It’s vital to put people before property and to co-operate with the emergency services if they tell you to evacuate your home.
Be prepared to act quickly to get yourself to safety.
Important! Flood water is dangerous:
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Six inches of fast-flowing water can knock over an adult and two feet of water can move a car.
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Avoid walking or driving through it.
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Keep children and vulnerable people away from it.
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Wash your hands thoroughly if you touch it .
Check for flood alerts, warnings or severe flood warnings
You can:
It is possible that your area is not covered by a flood warning as they are often associated with larger rivers.
Stay alert to surface water flooding which usually happens where drainage systems are unable to cope with heavy rain. It is difficult to give warning for this due to the unpredictability of storm forecasts.
In summary for a:
- Flood alert - prepare a bag of medicines and insurance documents, check for flood warnings and know how to turn off the gas, water and electricity
- Flood Warning - act by turning off the gas, water and electricity and move yourself, family, pets, things and car to safety
- Severe flood warning – survive and call 999 if in immediate danger
Protect yourself, others and then your property
- Help prevent flood water entering the house by:
- putting plugs in sinks or baths - you can weigh the plug down with a plastic bag filled with something heavy
- plug water inlet pipes with old rags
- disconnect washing machines and dishwashers
- use flood boards if you have them??
- Fill jugs and saucepans with water for supplies if flood water has not yet entered the house.
- Turn off utilities if the flood water has not yet entered your home:
- Do not touch sources of electricity when standing in flood water.
- Move the following to a higher place / upstairs:
- family and pets - ensure there is a safe means of exit
- valuables, such as family photos
- essential items such as insurance documents, medication, torches and waterproofs
- furniture – if you have the means to raise it with bricks or equivalent.
- car - if it is safe to do so
- Check on vulnerable residents.
For further information, see the government pages on What to do before and during a flood.
Flooding equipment
If you have any flooding equipment, you'll need to use it now. This may be as simple as some sandbags, a toilet bung or even a flood gate or barrier.
If flood water has not reached your property yet, and it is safe to do so, you can obtain sandbags and sand from your local builder merchant.
Assistance with emergency shelter
If you have been evacuated or need to evacuate your home, you can contact your district or borough council to find out about assistance with emergency shelter.
Who to contact for help and reassurance
If you're in danger, or have a health emergency, call the emergency services on 999
Otherwise, you can contact:
If you're in doubt about who to contact:
- please call Leicestershire County Council Customer Services on 0116 305 0001
Travel updates and road closures
Only our Highways department can legally close a road in Leicestershire due to flooding.
If this happens, we will put signs up and update one network which should also inform Google maps.
You can also look out for Leicester Area Traffic Control twitter updates.
When and who to ‘report a flood’ to
Make sure you and your family are safe before reporting a flood.
If it's an emergency call 999.
For further information on reporting a flood, visit our ‘Report a flood ’ page.
