Prepare Your Home and Your Family
Would you know what to do if your home was at risk of flooding?
Flooding can happen quickly, and when it does, having a few things prepared in advance can make a stressful situation much easier to manage.
The Bugbrooke Community Resilience Team is encouraging residents, particularly those whose homes are at risk of flooding, to think about what they could do now to protect their home, belongings and themselves if the worst happens.
Being prepared isn’t about expecting a flood. It is about giving yourself more options and more time to act if one does occur.
Have a bag ready
If you were told that you needed to leave your home, would you know what you would take with you?
Consider preparing a small emergency grab bag that you can pick up quickly. It could include things such as:
- Essential medication and prescriptions
- Important documents or copies of them
- Mobile phone and charger/power bank
- Keys
- Basic toiletries
- Warm clothing and waterproofs
- Bottled water and a small amount of food
- A torch and spare batteries
- Essential items for children, babies or pets
- Contact details for family, friends and anyone you may need to contact
Keep it somewhere accessible and make sure everyone in the household knows where it is.
Think about protecting your home
There are also practical steps you can take before a flood to reduce the potential damage to your property and belongings.
Think about what you could move upstairs or somewhere safer if flooding was expected. Important documents, photographs, sentimental items, electrical equipment and other irreplaceable possessions may be particularly worth protecting.
It is also worth thinking about how water could enter your home and what flood protection measures might be appropriate for your property.
There is no single solution that works for every home. This is why getting advice and understanding your own property’s risks is so important.
These measures are not supplied by the Parish Council or Community Resilience Team. Residents should consider what is appropriate for their own property and circumstances and make their own preparations in advance.
Look after yourself first
Your safety should always come before your possessions.
If flooding is expected, keep up to date with official warnings and advice. Never put yourself at risk trying to save belongings, and never enter floodwater if you can avoid it. Floodwater can be deeper, faster-moving and more hazardous than it appears.
Having a plan in advance means you don’t have to make important decisions for the first time when the water is already rising.
The FloodMobile is coming to Bugbrooke
If your home is at risk of flooding, come along and talk to the experts.
The FloodMobile will be visiting Bugbrooke on Wednesday 29th of October, from 3pm to 7pm, and will be located in the car park by the Church on Church Lane.
The FloodMobile provides an opportunity to see practical flood-resilience measures and talk to people who can offer advice about preparing your home.
You can:
- Ask questions about your particular situation
- Look at practical ways of protecting your property
- Find out how to reduce potential damage to your possessions
- Learn about preparing for a flood
- Discuss what you can do to keep yourself and your family safe
- Find out more about flood warnings and being prepared
You don’t need to wait until there is a flood to find out what you could do.
Come along, have a chat and see what options might work for you.
Thursday 29th of October
3pm–7pm
Car park by the Church, Church Lane, Bugbrooke
The later afternoon and evening timing is intended to make it easier for people who work during the day to attend.
A little preparation now can make a big difference
The Community Resilience Team is working to help Bugbrooke become better prepared for flooding and other emergencies. But resilience starts with each household knowing what it can do to look after itself.
You don’t need to buy lots of expensive equipment or be an expert. Start with a simple plan, know where your important belongings are, prepare a grab bag and find out what flood protection options are available for your home.
And if you live in an area at risk of flooding, please take the opportunity to visit the FloodMobile on the 29th of October.
Being prepared doesn’t mean expecting the worst.
It means giving yourself the best chance of being ready if it happens.