News | Flooding - are you prepared?

Ensure your business is ready. Following the recent snow and rainfall, we are advising our member businesses to be prepared for a possible flood.

We encourage you to review your flood resilience plan, and to visit your premises frequently, especially if you are currently closed due to the Covid-19 national restrictions.

Firstly, make sure you are signed up for free flood alerts and warnings from the Environment Agency, which can be received by call, text or email by more than one individual at a business.

It is important to understand what the different warnings mean so you can use them as a trigger to put your plan into place at the right time.

Please see below for a breakdown of each warning level and the suggested action.

We advise that you keep checking the council website for your area for localised updates:

• Calderdale: www.calderdale.gov.uk
• Kirklees: www.kirklees.gov.uk
• Wakefield: www.wakefield.gov.uk

Flood Alert – Flooding to low lying land and roads is possible. Stay vigilant and make early preparations for a potential flood.

• Monitor the situation and check the forecast.
• Ensure you have access to the flood plan, property flood resilience products and flood kit.
• Ensure that staff are aware that a flood alert is in place and the actions to take if the situation develops.

Flood Warning – Flooding is expected. Immediate action is required to protect yourself and your property.

• Move stock and equipment upstairs or to safety.
• Deploy temporary flood resistance products (keep a note of where they are stored and how to install them).
• Move all vehicles and staff cars out of the flood risk area if possible.
• If feasible, evacuate staff who won’t be needed to put the flood plan in place prior to a severe flood warning.

Severe Flood Warning – Severe flooding is expected. Significant risk to life and property. Prepare to evacuate and cooperate with emergency services.

• Upon receiving a severe flood warning you will need to evacuate yourself and all staff from the premises and cooperate with advice from the emergency services.
• Turn off gas, electricity and water supplies if possible and safe to do so before you evacuate.