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Flood advice

We have collected key information to help you prepare for a flood, how to deal with a flood and what to do if you have been affected by a flood.

We undertake pro-active maintenance work to keep drains, gulleys, grids and culverts clear to help with drainage and to keep water flowing. However, this only applies to Council owned land and property where we have a responsibility to do so.

Nottinghamshire County Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority in Nottinghamshire, and has powers and duties for managing local flood risk. The County Council works with the Environment Agency, Highways, Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and other local authorities to manage flooding from local sources such as surface water, ordinary watercourses and groundwater.

In an emergency

Please help emergency services by following the advice below:

  • Only travel if necessary
  • Don’t ignore a flood warning or a road closure sign
  • Give yourself plenty of time for your journey and always have a second route planned
  • If you must drive:
    • never drive into flood water, 30mm (1 inch) of water is enough to cause a vehicle to float and drift
    • slow down and leave plenty of room between you and the car in front
    • use your headlights if visibility is poor
  • Do not to enter flood water in case of hidden hazards such as lifted manhole covers.
  • River flooding is possible so stay away from swollen rivers.

If you need to report an incident of flooding or need further information on how to prepare or what to do in the event of flooding, these useful links and telephone numbers will help:

Risk to life

  • If there is an immediate risk to life or health, contact the emergency services, call 999
  • If there is a health emergency or ongoing medical conditions because of a flood, contact your local GP or call 999 depending on the severity of your situation.

Reporting flooding and drainage issues

You can report road, highways, drainage and flooding issues to Nottinghamshire County Council:

Check flood risks in your area

People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation:

Travel information

Ashfield District Council support

Housing

If you are a private resident (either private renter or home owner) and your home has been damaged by the flood, contact your insurer as soon as possible. In addition to assisting with repairs and replacing damaged furniture, they can also provide temporary accommodation if it is needed.

For advice about insurance claims and what to do after a flood, visit:

If you are not insured and your home is uninhabitable, or you need advice and help to replace damaged furniture and white goods, please contact our Housing Options Team:

  • telephone: 01623 450 000

If you are a Council tenant affected by a flood, you may have already been visited by a Housing Officer. The Officer will liaise with our Repairs Team about any works needed to your home and will discuss any further support you need, such as replacement furniture.

If you are a Council tenant and you haven’t yet spoken to your Housing Officer, you can contact them:

  • telephone: 01623 450 000

The Nottinghamshire Floods Hardship Fund supports residents and businesses affected by flooding, eligible residents can receive a one-off payment of £120:

Street debris - Clean up process

If your street/road has debris or rubbish build up from the flooding, please report this to us online so we can clear it.

Damaged furniture

If your furniture has been damaged by flooding, we can refer you to the Furniture Project, please call our Housing Options Team:

  • telephone: 01623 450 000.

Food bank referrals for council tenants

If you are a council tenant and need a referral to a food bank due to flooding, please call our Housing Team

  • telephone: 01623 450 000.

Other support

Sewage or flooding from a public foul sewer, surface water sewer or a water main

Your local water company is responsible for any flooding coming from a public sewer. You would need to report any issues directly to the water company:

Severn Trent Water 24-hour emergency line:

  • telephone: 0800 783 4444

Anglian Water 24-hour emergency line:

  • telephone: 03457 145 145

Flooding from a river, reservoir, or coastal water

Please contact the Environment Agency:

  • telephone: The Environment Agency Flood line - 0345 988 1188
  • telephone: The Environment Agency incident hotline - 0800 80 70 60

Preparing for a flood

Home owners are responsible for protecting their property from flooding.

Visit the following websites to find out information on how to prepare and protect your home from flooding:

Sandbags

Please be aware that the Council has no legal duty to provide sandbags – it is a resident’s responsibility to protect their property as far as possible.

Sandbags are a short term and relatively cheap way to manage flooding, but only if they are filled and placed correctly. However, they are of no use if a property is already flooded.

If you require sandbags, where possible you should buy them from local builder’s merchants, DIY stores or online in advance of flooding as Ashfield District Council only stock a very limited amount of sandbags and these are prioritised for the most vulnerable residents. A vulnerable resident is someone who is at risk of their property being flooded and is less able to help themselves in a flood emergency situation.

Sandbags are supplied to vulnerable residents (including elderly or disabled residents) by Nottinghamshire County Council, who have a limited amount to supply during times of flooding.  

In addition, sandbag requests are only considered for approval if they are to protect against internal flooding of homes – they would not be approved for protecting gardens or outbuildings such as sheds, summerhouses or garages.

Nottinghamshire County Council do not have the capacity to provide sandbags to all requests, throughout the county, and it may be difficult for them to deliver sandbags in time to effective due to the weather and road conditions.

If you do receive sandbags from any agency, please retain them for future use.

During a flood

Safe drinking water

If the drinking water in the local area is affected, the water company will make other provisions to provide drinking water to residents.

If you think there is a problem with the drinking water in your area, you will need to contact the water company directly:

Severn Trent Water 24-hour emergency line:

  • telephone: 0800 783 4444

Anglian Water 24-hour emergency line:

  • telephone: 03457 145 145

If drinking water is urgently needed, and you are unsure about the drinking water coming from your taps, you will need to either boil the water before drinking it or use bottled water.

After a flood

Flood water

There are precautions which Public Health England suggest to avoid contracting any bugs or infections from flood water:

  • Avoid coming into direct contact with flood water, where possible
  • If you have to go into flood water, wear waterproof gloves and wellies or rubber boots
  • Remember that there may be concealed hazards within areas of flood water
  • Wash your hands - Use warm, clean water and soap if available, or use either cold water and soap or soapy wet wipes if not, and clean all parts of your hands and forearms, then dry them.

If you start to feel unwell after coming into contact with flood water (such as vomiting, diarrhoea or skin irritations), you need to contact your GP or telephone NHS 111.

Food including home grown food

If you are growing your own fruit and vegetables and these have been covered by flood water, you should not eat them. You can leave undamaged vegetables in the ground for at least 2 weeks, and can then use them but you will need to wash them thoroughly before cooking and consuming them.

For food touched by flood water in your home, do not eat this. 

Electrical items

Do not try to use or switch on any electrical items that have been in flood water. These would need to be checked over by an electrician, who has cleaned and check them over thoroughly. 

Clothes and toys

Any clothes or soft toys that have been in flood water would need to be washed at 60C or at the highest temperature allowed on the washing instructions. That should kill any germs present in the fabric. They would need to be washed separately to uncontaminated items. Any items that cannot be washed would need to be professionally cleaned; inform the cleaner that the items have been in flood water so they can take appropriate safety measures. 

Anything that is too badly damaged would need to be disposed of.

Waste collections

We will inform residents and trade waste customers of any waste collections affected after flooding, via this website and our social media channels.

 

Related links: