Floods

Floods can happen anywhere at anytime and not necessarily due to heavy rain, a burst water main or blocked sewer can also lead to flooding.

Although the chances of you being affected by a flood are low, it is important to be prepared and know what to do to protect your property, yourself and others.

The Council provides a 'Flooding advice leaflet' to help you prepare for a flood emergency that could affect your lives and your property. The leaflet is available to download on the right hand side of this page or by clicking on the link above.

Flood reporting

Types of Flooding

Surface water flooding – This type of flooding is caused because the volume of water falling onto the hard surfaces such as roofs, roads and footways overwhelms the existing drainage system. This type of flooding can be short lived and associated with heavy downpours of rain, thunder storms etc.

Tidal - This type of flooding is caused by high tides and or inclement weather breaching sea defences and inundating the surrounding areas.

Fluvial - Caused by rivers or main watercourses bursting or over-topping their banks and flooding which can lead to widespread flooding, usually follows extended periods of exceptionally heavy rainfall.

Groundwater - flooding occurs as a result of water rising up from the ground. This tends to occur after extended periods of sustained rainfall, although it can also occur if abstraction for industrial uses ceases leading to a rise in the water level underground.

Sewer and water main flooding - results from blockages, collapses, rainfall overwhelming the drainage system, water bursts or equipment failures, such as pumping station breakdowns.