Brighton Loss Assessors AKA Assisted Claims say Protect Your Home from Floods

28/10/2009

As we enter the Autumn months we are expecting rain and with rain comes floods. In light of this, we are urging people to prepare for the worst in order to defend themselves.

Many people fell victim at the hands of the terrible flooding of 2007 and since then the Environment Agency and Government have been trying to work together to defend cities, towns and villages from the devastation flooding causes.

Although the Government and Environment Agency have got the ball rolling our Brighton Loss Assessor's are advising people to look at flood defences for their own properties and not rely on strategies that may not safe guard individuals against flooding.

One couple from Oxfordshire have been hit 3 times in 20 years and after the second time decided that they would install their own flood defences. The couple have in fact put together a £40,000 flood defence strategy to protect their home. This includes an underground pump that throws water back out from under the property into the garden and yogurt pots to protect the legs of chairs.

We have talked about the risk of flood damage to homes before, but were you aware that one in six homes were at risk? Although the Government and Environment Agency are working hard to tackle this, the investment in flood defences will have to rise from £570 million a year to £1 billion if all the 500,000 homes that are most at risk are to be protected.

The Government have packages that they recommend that typically cost around £30,000. Water is allowed into the property but the damage that it can cause once there is minimal. Although the initial cost may seem high, but the savings in for repairs could be anything from 50% - 80%.

Things that you can do to protect yourself from flooding:

Raise electrical sockets up the wall
Replace wooden floors with solid concrete
Raise kitchen cabinets off the floor
Raise electrical sockets up the wall
Block airbricks and other low level holes
Have sandbags at the ready
Move valuable items out of harms way
Prepare yourself for a flood, by having food and clothes readily avilable
Know where your electricity, gas and water supply is so that you can turn it off in an emergency
Listen to local radio and check the Environment Agency website for information about flood warnings.