Get ready for winter with vital flood awareness events in Surrey
Environment Agency focuses on personal and community safety
Residents in Rushmoor at a recent event held by the Environment Agency to warn about flood-risk - and what you can do about it
Named storms have already caused chaos in November across the UK, and some parts of Surrey have received three months’ worth of rain in the last month (200mm).
The flood alert on the Chertsey Bourne alone has been on since October. With that in mind, the Environment Agency is preparing to host two important local drop-in events to help raise awareness of flood-risk.
The afternoon events, beginning next week in Chertsey and followed by a December date in Egham Hythe, are set to provide a wealth of information on both personal and community flood resilience.
The team will be showcasing the free online tools and resources available to help anyone plan and prepare for flooding.
Residents and businesses will be given advice on how to prepare by:
- Signing up to the flood warning service to receive free warnings of imminent flooding to land and property. This can be done at https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings. Those who already have accounts will be able to review and check their details.
- Knowing what to do when a flood warning is issued. A good start is to have a personal flood plan for the family and to consider packing a bag with essential items and having it ready to go when needed.
- Keeping an eye on the situation. It’s easy to follow the five-day weather forecast and monitor river levels online.
Sarah Hale, flood resilience manager for the Environment Agency’s Thames area, said:
We’ve already seen bad weather and flooding across the UK recently with storms Babet and Ciaran, and it’s not even winter yet.
With the first of these events falling in Flood Awareness Week, it’s the perfect time to put local residents and businesses in the best possible position to face heavy rain and possible flooding in the months ahead.
The Environment Agency regularly runs flood-awareness exhibitions with further events planned for 2024.
The events will be at:
- Chertsey Hall Heriot Road, Chertsey KT16 9DR on Thursday 23 November 2023 from 1pm to 4pm
- Hythe Centre, Thorpe Road, Staines-Upon-Thames TW18 3HD on 12 December 2023 from 1pm to 4pm
Flood Awareness Week begins on 20 November 2023 and encourages those at risk to follow the advice to ‘Prepare. Act. Survive,’ specifically:
- Flood alerts – these indicate that people should be aware. If there is a flood alert – prepare by packing medicines and insurance documents and visit the flood warning information service.
- Flood warnings – these mean that flooding is expected and people should take action to stay safe. If there is a flood warning – act by moving family, pets and belongings to safety. Turn off gas, water and electricity.
- Severe flood warnings – these mean that there is a risk to life. People should take immediate action and follow the advice of the emergency services.
If there is a severe flood warning – survive immediate danger by calling 999 and following the advice of emergency services.
Contact us:
0800 141 2743 or [email protected]