The Environment Agency is urging the public to ensure they are prepared for a flood as the nation marks the annual ‘Flood Action Week’, which this year runs from 14-20 October.
This year’s awareness campaign coincides with the one-year anniversary of Storm Babet, which brought significant flooding across the country.
According to the Met Office, Storm Babet saw the third wettest three-day period in a series for England and Wales since 1891.
Nearly 96,900 properties were protected by the Environment Agency during Storm Babet, though sadly around 2,150 were flooded.
As climate change brings more extreme weather, there has already been flooding this autumn. Only last month, heavy rainfall led to the first major incident of the season with almost a thousand properties flooded. It followed the wettest 18 months on record in England up to February 2024.
This campaign is all about showing people that they can easily take a few steps to reduce the devastation caused by floods to their homes and businesses, with around 5.5 million properties in England at risk from flooding. Recent data suggests that nearly half the country is unsure of how to find information on local flood risks, making this campaign all the more important.
Caroline Douglass, Environment Agency Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management, said:
“Climate change means extreme weather events are happening more frequently, and we have already seen an unusually wet September this year.
“We can’t always predict where the rain will fall or where flooding will occur, but we do know which areas are at risk.
“That is why it is essential we all do our part by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings this Flood Action Week. While we at the Environment Agency are stepping up our preparations to increase the nation’s resilience to flooding as we head into the winter, taking small steps today can immediately improve your own readiness.”
