Six in ten have never checked their flood risk

Despite increased incidents of flood events across the country, a survey has showed that people in Great Britain are still not checking the flood risk of their homes.

Revealed only days after more than 100 flood alerts were issued – predominantly in Yorkshire – by the Environment Agency, 62 per cent of respondents to a new YouGov survey stated that they have never checked the flood risk level of their home.

The survey shows that people in Scotland are the least likely to have carried out any checks with 77 per cent confirming they had never researched their flood risk.  This was followed by those in London (71 per cent), 65 per cent of those in the North West of England and 63 per cent in Yorkshire and Humber.

Additionally, just six per cent of people have a flood plan and would know how to put it into action if a flood was to occur. More than a third admitted that they do not have a flood plan and wouldn’t know what to do if they were to experience a flood, while 49 per cent said they didn’t have a flood plan, yet felt they would know what to do in the event of a flood. Furthermore, only 23 per cent of respondents said they checked the flood risk of their home before moving in, with 12 per cent saying they checked afterwards.   

Respondents considered a range of organisations that they believe have a responsibility to protect homes against flooding, including the local council (62 per cent), the Environment Agency (60 per cent), and homeowners, if living in the home (54 per cent). Landlords, if renting the home (43 per cent), the government (37 per cent) and tenants (21 per cent) were also cited as being responsible for protecting a home against flooding, with eight per cent not being sure where responsibility falls.

The Environment Agency says that over five million properties are at risk of flooding – of which 2.4 million properties are at risk from the sea or rivers, and a larger share of 2.8 million properties are at risk of surface water flooding, which isn’t always visibly apparent.