Residents in areas including Long Eaton, Sandiacre and Stanton by Dale will receive information leaflets through their doors in the coming weeks and posters will be on display in the community urging people to know what actions to take if the area was to be impacted by flooding. There will also be digital content promoting the campaign on social media and online.
Most of these communities have not flooded for several decades, largely thanks to flood barriers built in the 1980s. However, while flood defences are very effective at protecting properties when water levels rise, no defence can provide a guarantee against flooding and everyone is recommended to know what to do in the event of a flood.
Flooding can cause up to £30,000 of damage to a home, and can result in mental health impacts, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, for those affected. Preparing before a flood, and knowing what to do if it happens, can reduce these significant impacts. However, most people who could flood in the future are unaware of the risk and are unprepared.
Paul Lockhart, Environment Agency Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for the East Midlands said:
While most of the Erewash communities have thankfully not experienced river flooding in recent years, there is still a risk that properties in these areas could flood.
We're seeing more extreme weather due to climate change and in the past year alone we've had 3 named storms in a week, record-breaking temperatures and drought declared across large parts of the country.
The best way to be prepared is to sign up for flood alerts and to have a flood plan in place so you know what to do should the worst happen.
People in these communities are being urged to visit the Plan Ahead for Flooding page on GOV.UK to find out what actions they can take to prepare, including:
- Packing a bag with essentials like spare medication and important documents
- Making a note of key
