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A brief synopsis from Richard Simmons:
This is my personal advice to you and it is written in 'non-nanny-state language' without prejudice or liability; I feel I have expertise that will help you; here it is:
You are worried that you might be flooded soon:
Background thinking:
I am assuming you have current information from the Agencies and News broadcasts that flooding is a strong possibility. Do not hope for the best; "be prepared".
Most households think it “will never happen to me”; already the reports from the agencies are that even when issued warnings are rarely heeded until too late. Flooding wrecks, houses, families, lives and marriages and even jobs.
My advice is to do anything and everything to mitigate the likelihood of water ingress or even to limit the amount of water ingress. Whilst many have the view efforts could be pointless, they commonly fail to appreciate that the water damage and drying time from a flood is proportional to both the height of water and the length of time in which it stands in a property.
Bricks and concrete very slowly absorb water until eventually after many days it reaches their core; it then takes months to dry those materials out. (1" per month). If one can minimise the time and depth the water stands for in a building then the drying time can be shortened by many weeks.
Preparation:
Here are some simple things you can do in a few hours that will save your property in a marginal flood.
Walk around your property and examine where water would first leak in. Typical areas are airbricks and low level vents, the front and back doors.
Airbricks and vents can typically be covered with special covers made by vent covers from specialist company’s. Assuming you have only a few hours in which to react cut simple 12mm thick plywood covers and plug and screw these to the brickwork with a mastic or acrylic window sealant around the airbrick of vent hole.
Screw a plywood sheet (18mm if possible) either to your external door frames or the wall holding the door frames. Run a mastic gun / sealant where the ply joins the brickwork and check all frames are sealed to the brickwork at all points. Seal the bottom of the plywood to the frame cill or paving.
If sand bags are not readily available buy polythene d.i.y bags of sand or gravel from your local merchants, superstore or garden centre. They are really effective if very tightly packed together. Two thicknesses are better than one and £60 buys about 20 bags. Lay these outside the doors and any other vulnerable points. If you are sure a flood is arriving then a concrete / post mix door barrier should not be discounted as 'crazy'. A dry mix of concrete would cure adequately in several hours, takes about an hour to install and only a few hours to break out.
Towels should be jambed down the W.C. pans as tightly as possible to form a seal and then rest heavy weights, bricks etc on the towel to stop sewage entering through the W.C. as soon as the drains surcharge which then are highly likely to. Try to block all sink and ground floor basin pipes even by disconnecting them, blocking with rags and taping them up.
(do not try to keep water over 1metre deep out as the water pressure could cause the structure to collapse).
If possible lift all kitchen appliances onto the kitchen worktops (structure allowing).
Move as much furniture and furnishing to upstairs. Roll up carpets if realistically possible. Raise sofas etc onto boxes etc. Tape up electrical points with waterproof tape. Disconnect electric and gas when flooding starts.
Consider buying a submersible pump (£100-£150) that can be placed in the lowest area of the house and may work wonders if you nearly win the day. After a bad flood this would get your house clear of standing water really fast (therefore much quicker drying) and is thus a fantastic each way bet!
Buy a few simple items: Electric heaters, disinfectant, wide sweeping brushes, polythene sheeting, duck tape, washing line ropes, semi-circular dust pans for bailing water; mops; scrubbing brushes; wet vacuum.
Post script
If your neighbours laugh at you because the flood never arrived you will still be delighted that you have had a 'dry run'; your holes are drilled and your boards are cut ready for next time.. there will be a next time.. but maybe less notice.
In your preparation you have damaged your house with a few sealant marks and drill holes; this is a small price to pay and can be cleaned off relatively easily.
The measures above a relatively little trouble to possibly preserve you entire way of life which may be disasterously disturbed for many months.. assess the evidence available and liklyhood, decide and act!
Summary
I hope my writing are helpful to you. Do not assume the Government, Councils or Agencies will take responsibility for you. Be determined to help yourself by minimising both your risk and any possible effects if a flood happens. This site is not run for commercial gain.
The main part of this website has a mine of useful information. It is commercial so please tell you colleagues if you find it helpful: