Reduce your risk of flooding
The Environment Agency, Lambeth Council, Thames Water, and others are responsible for managing the risk of flooding at a strategic level. Property owners are ultimately responsible for managing flooding on their property.
Whether or not you own your building, there are steps you can take to reduce your vulnerability to flooding.
Assess the risk
- Check your long-term flood risk on the Environment Agency's flood risk map - if you need help interpreting the map, email us at sustainability@lambeth.gov.uk.
- How would you enter and exit your property in a flood? Are these routes likely to be safe?
- Which areas or people in your property are most vulnerable to flooding?
- Are your family, neighbours or tenants aware of the risk?
Prepare for flooding
- Sign up for flood alerts from the Environment Agency (only covers river and coastal flooding) and weather warnings from the Met Office.
- Make a start - follow the National Flood Forum checklist or Flood Mary's to-do-list to make sure you know what to do in a flood, and quick steps you can take now to reduce the impact.
- Long-term actions - consider installing property flood resilience (PFR) measures and check if your home insurance policy covers flooding.
- Community actions - talk to your neighbours, family and friends about the risk of flooding in your area. You may wish to put together a shared flood action plan or start a community Flood Action Group. There is already a Flood Action Group in Gipsy Hill.
Good advice on protecting your home or business from flooding is available through:
Our flood risk management team may be able to offer limited advice too. Get in touch by email at sustainability@lambeth.gov.uk.
Help prevent flooding
If you have a garden, you can help catch water where it falls by depaving, installing a water butt to collect rainwater or other sustainable drainage systems such as green roofs. See the RHS advice on collecting, storing and reusing water.
The Mayor of London has published guidance on transforming spaces from grey to green, because plants and permeable surfaces help to capture rainwater before it overwhelms local drainage systems.
The Mayor of London website also advice on how to make our streets and gardens more resilient to extreme rainfall and heatwaves, as well as reintroducing habitats for wildlife, through: