Find out if you are at risk
You do not need to live near a river or watercourse to experience flooding. In Somerset there are approximately 19,000 properties which are at risk from surface water flooding.
Find out more on how you can assess your flood risk and what measures you can take to prepare for a flood.
Planning for a flood
In the event of a flood, the emergency services may not be able to reach you. It is up to you to plan for you and your family. Think ahead and build your own emergency plan today. Print off a Household Emergency Checklist now. We have also put together a list of useful contact phone numbers.
If you need more information or would like a Household Emergency Checklist sent to you please contact our Civil Contingencies Unit by email civilcontingencies@somerset.gov.uk
How to plan ahead for flooding on GOV.UK gives also advice on what to do, how to make a plan and where to get help.
Sandbags
If you are concerned that your property could flood, please follow the advice on our Flood prevention and sandbags page.
If you need help pumping water out of your property, please contact the Fire Brigade. You should also contact your insurance company as soon as possible to make them aware of the damage to your property.
Floodline
The Floodline service is provided by the Environment Agency, providing up-to-date flood warnings and advice. Floodline can also provide useful information on purchasing flood protection equipment. They also offer advice and expertise through education and promotion of good practices to farmers.
Roads have features designed to take the water away from the road surface. Exceptional rainfall, a road being in a low-lying area, changes in run off from adjacent fields and rivers overflowing are some situations that can lead to the road flooding or being waterlogged even when drains are in good working order. Puddles tend to occur if there is a depression in the road and can be rectified by local patching of the road surface. The priorities attached to this type of work depend on the urgency of other work and the resources available.
Highway gullies are cleared on an annual cycle or more frequently where appropriate. If there is a likelihood of property being flooded and water on the highway being a hazard, please report it to us.
Highway flooding can cause a hazard and can damage the structure of the road. The main flooding threats are a river rising, a blocked water course, a burst pipe, road water flooding, a blocked drain (gully), ditch or culvert, land surface water flooding off fields or natural spring water flooding.
You can check for flood warnings in Somerset on the GOV.UK Flood Information Service website. For current flood warnings in force, please phone the 24-hour Floodline on 0345 988 1188
The National Flood Forum
The National Flood Forum has produced a Blue Pages Directory. This is a directory of flood protection products and services put together to help you protect your home or business against flooding. While we cannot endorse any of the products, we are happy to provide the information so that you can make informed choices.
Where there is a risk of flooding to a depth of more than 0.9m, keeping water out can sometimes do more harm than good. The pressure of water against your property may cause structural damage to the building itself.
The National Flood Forum recommends that you visit the Environment Agency website before you buy any flood protection products.
You can also phone Floodline on 0345 988 1188 and ask for copies of their information booklets – Preparing for a Flood, During a Flood and After a Flood.
Information and advice
For details of flood warnings, please visit the Environment Agency’s website.
For weather information, please visit the Met Office website.
For advice on how to deal with flooding, phone Floodline on 0345 988 1188
For information on emergency road closures, please visit Emergency road closure gates.
For up-to-date information about floods and other adverse weather conditions affecting roads in Somerset, please visit our Roads, travel and parking section.