Safeguarding your home

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency provide the following advice on long term preparations that can help to protect your home:

• Board your loft - Valuable possessions can be kept above flood water levels
• Buy portable flood barrier products from builders’ merchants
• Know how to turn off gas, electricity and water supplies if safe to do so. DO NOT touch your electricity source when standing in flood water!
• Prepare a flood kit
• Clean your gutters regularly
• Move electrical sockets above anticipated water levels
• Keep any watercourses, such as ditches or culverts, which run across or border your garden, free from blockages and check for bank erosion. Never be tempted to fill them in
• Keep some empty sandbags and sand / earth ready for use. You can buy sand and sandbags at most DIY /garden centres or use pillowcases. Stack the sandbags like in a brick formation and stamp onto bags to plug the gaps
• Keep gullies clear to ensure water can drain away. Gullies on public highways are maintained by Wirral council. Homeowners are responsible for keeping private gullies clean including their drains
• Insure your house and contents
• Register FREE for the Floodline Warnings Direct Service by calling Floodline 0845 9881188 or visit the Environment Agency website.
• At the first sign of flooding move your family and valuable items upstairs
• Always assume flood water contains sewage and use rubber gloves when handling affected items

To find out whether or not your property is at risk from river flooding and to sign up to the free floodline warnings direct service, to receive warnings by phone, text, e-mail, fax or pager call 0845 988 1188

Practical advice on what to do to protect you and your property is available to download

Insurance

It is most important to seek the best possible insurance cover for your home and contents - it is too late to consider this after a flood.

Contact your insurance company immediately if your home has flooded, the majority of household policies provide insurance cover for flooding. If you are a tenant and have taken out contents insurance, household contents, fixtures and fittings should be covered; it is normally the responsibility of your landlord to provide building insurance. However you are advised to check your policy.

If you are uninsured you will most likely be responsible for covering all costs of flood damage.

Remember to keep records of flood damage (photos etc).

The Environment Agency provide a 'Flood Risk and Insurance Information sheet' prepared in partnership with the Association of British Insurers to answer the most commonly asked questions.

Advice for the older people

Fnd out if family or friends can offer you a place to stay when potential flooding may occur. If you have a disability you can contact our Social Services and ask them how they will help. Plan you escape route, make a list of useful numbers and follow the advice given on the flooding advice page.