Flooding

Flooding can happen at any time of the year in Scotland and is devastating for those affected – from the initial emotional shock of having possessions or stock destroyed, to the financial strain of leaving your home or closing your business, often for many months. The impact on the wider community can last for a long time after the event itself.

The Scottish Government estimates 284,000 properties, businesses and services are at risk of flooding in Scotland and in 2019 released Living with flooding: action plan. It is likely that you or someone you know will be affected by flooding at some point in life. It's important that in the event of a flood, you know what to do and how to be prepared.

Water Safety Scotland supports the Scottish Government‘s Ready Scotland campaign and all the great work being done by Floodline and many other agencies to offer invaluable advice to those at risk and affected by flooding in Scotland.

How to minimise the risk

It is not as straightforward as minimising the risk, as if you are live or work in area prone to flooding, it is likely you will be affected. The focus instead is on being informed about flood risk, and knowing how to keep yourself and your family as safe as possible during a flood event. The Scottish Flood Forum has some great advice on how to make property more flood-resilient, as well as lots of other important advice.

The key advice from Water Safety Scotland is:

• Sign up to Floodline.

  Floodline provides live flooding information and advice on how to prepare for or cope with the impacts of flooding 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also recommend Ready Scotland for advice, and following @SEPAFlood on Twitter. Forewarned is forearmed.

• Prepare an emergency flood kit by following @ScotFloodForum and adopting their advice
• Don’t drive through flooded roads

  Don’t drive through flooded roads, particularly if the water is moving. Keep yourself safe during a flash flood and move your car to higher ground

• Never drive through water that you think might be too deep - you could be putting yourself in real danger of getting stuck or swept away