Flooding

You can use the GOV.UK flood risk checking tools to find out if your property could be affected by any of the following types of flooding. See the next dropdown box on this page for the links.

Flooding from main rivers (also known as 'fluvial flooding')

River flooding can happen when the amount of water in the river exceeds its capacity, causing it to overflow onto low-lying, adjacent land. This adjacent land is known as the 'flood plain'. The Environment Agency is responsible for managing the risk of flooding from rivers.

Flooding from surface water

Peterborough is at risk from surface water flooding which can occur in almost any location. It can be caused by heavy rain, minor watercourses, overflowing sewers or groundwater. Water will run towards lower areas where it may pond. Surface flooding is often localised and on a smaller scale than flooding from main rivers.

The surface water may be unable to soak into the earth because it is already fully saturated, or because the surface is impermeable.

Flooding from reservoirs

The risk of reservoir flooding is very low because of the management and resilience measures in place for reservoirs. There are three large water bodies in Peterborough that contribute to the area's risk of reservoir flooding - Nene Washes, Rutland Water and Crowland's Cowbit Washes.

Flooding from groundwater

While groundwater levels can be high anywhere, flooding caused by groundwater is more likely in areas built upon sand and gravel because water can travel easily through the ground. There is currently no publicly available maps to show the risk of groundwater flooding.

Visit the GOV.UK website to check flood warnings, short-term and long-term flooding risks, plus the history of flooding at your property.

• Check for current flood warnings on GOV.UK
• Check the long-term flood risk on GOV.UK
• Find out if your property is in an area that has flooded on GOV.UK
• Sign up for flood warnings on GOV.UK
• Get flood risk information for planning in England on GOV.UK
• View guidance on owning a watercourse on GOV.UK

The Environment Agency offers a service where you can sign up to receive flood warnings and alerts by phone, text or email. The service is free and provides messages about flooding from rivers, the sea and groundwater. 

Sign up for flood alerts on the GOV.UK website.

View information on what the different flood alerts mean on the GOV.UK website.

A household emergency plan is a document that your household creates to pull together all the important information that you might need in an emergency such as a flood. Do you all know your home insurance provider and details? Do you all know phone numbers and addresses of family and friends without looking in your phone or address book? Do you all know how to turn off the electricity, water and gas in your home safely? What about looking after pets?

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum (CPLRF) brings together blue light emergency services, local authorities, the Environment Agency, public health organisations, military, government agencies, transport, utility organisations, and the voluntary sector to help plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies. On their website, you can find advice and information to help prepare for different types of emergency, including flooding:

• View guidance on preparing yourself and your family in an emergency on the CPLRF website
• Find a template and other things to consider in your household emergency plan on the CPLRF website

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is about ensuring that essential services and operations continue during and after disruptive incidents such as flooding.

During a flood, your business may experience power outages, loss of premises, damaged stock or equipment, staff shortages, supply chain issues, health and safety hazards etc. Having a BCM plan in place helps prepare you and your staff for disruption and can enable faster recovery, reduce any financial loss and protect your reputation.

• Visit our Business Continuity Plan page to find out how to get started with preparing
• View potential risks and hazards on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Prepared website

Being prepared for a flood is the best way to reduce its impact on your community and ensure a quicker recovery. If flooding is widespread, emergency services may need to prioritise those in immediate danger or safeguard critical infrastructure, meaning some areas might have to wait for assistance with non-emergencies.

Any community group can create a Community Emergency Plan to help their area be more resilient. Even if informal arrangements already exist, having a plan can bring everyone's ideas together into one document. This makes it easier for your community to understand and follow the plan.

• Visit our community resilience page to find out how to create a Community Emergency Plan
• Visit the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Prepared website to view a list of risks and hazards
• Encourage your community to create their own individual Household Emergency Plans and emergency packs
• View the Community Risk Register on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Prepared website

Installing Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures at your home or business can help reduce the impact and damage caused by a flood.

PFR measures are split into two categories:

• Installing permanent or temporary products at your property to prevent flood water from entering - e.g. flood barriers, air bricks, water resistant mortar etc.
  
  
• Adapting or changing fixtures and fittings at your property to reduce the damage caused by flood water once it enters your property - e.g. raising sockets and appliances, changing the flooring, using fittings made of water resistant materials such as stainless steel etc.

Find out more:

• View PFR guidance on the National Flood Forum website
• View PFR guidance on The Flood Hub website
• View PFR guides and product directories on the Flood Mary website

Please note you may need planning permission to do some of this work, particularly if it affects the flow of a river or diverts flood water.

Check if you need permission to do work on a river, flood defence or sea defence - GOV.UK.

View the 'prepare for flooding - get insurance' information on the GOV.UK website. It covers where homeowners, renters and business owners can get advice, plus what to do if you're struggling to insure your property or need proof of flood risk.

If your home is at risk of flooding, it’s important to have a record of your possessions so you can claim insurance. Take pictures of everything – especially your valuable items. This will make things easier when claiming and recovering from flood damage.

Keep your insurance documents in a safe, dry place. Make sure everyone in your household knows which companies you're insured with and where to locate the documents. If you need to evacuate your home during a flood, take your insurance documents in a grab bag so you can refer to them later if you can't return home straightaway.