Flood Risk - What can you do to make your house less vulnerable

[RJ22]

If you own a house that has high flood risk, what systems/measures can you implement in order to avoid flooding?
Do you have any idea of the rough costs?
Thank you

National Flood Forum have a look here, especially the “Blue Pages” tab.

Property level protection includes stuff like raising your electrics downstairs, lime plaster and concrete floors downstairs, soak aways in your garden to improve run off and flood gates - bear in mind these are only effective if you are at home to close them.

Broadly, you can aim to stop water coming in (though after about 30cm depth the pressure may cause more damage than the water would), and/or you can make water less damaging if it does come in.

There are loads of options, but broadly there are manageable depths (if you have stuff ready), and then there’s a water depth where nothing you do will really make a meaningful difference.

Nation Flood Forum a good place to start.

Obvs measures like plaster, raised electrics and concrete floors don’t prevent flooding, but improve resilience of your house to flooding.

If it’s a detached house with land, I suppose you could look at some kind of private defence system/embankment/wall, but this will have to be designed not to aggravate flooding elsewhere.

Presumably, this situation is not being addressed by the Env Agency/NRW etc ?

Air brick covers. I forgot to mention them.